NEW DELHI - Victoria swimmer Ryan Cochrane collected Canada's first medal of the Commonwealth Games on Monday with a gold in the men's 400-metre freestyle.
It was a good night at the pool for Canadian swimmers.
Julia Wilkinson of Stratford, Ont., was third in the women's 200-metre individual medley while Stefan Hirniak of Victoria took bronze in the men's 200 butterfly.
Australia did even better, winning three of the first five golds up for grabs at the pool.
But it was not all smooth sailing for beleaguered Games organizers.
The start of the men's 4x100-metre relay was delayed while debris was fished out of the pool.
Cochrane, who won in three minutes 48.48 seconds, is the first Canadian in 72 years to win the 400 metres at a Commonwealth Games.
"The race wasn't how I wanted it to unfold," said the 21-year-old, who competed in his first big international meet four years ago at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.
"The 400 is one of those events where I'm still learning. Each time I swim it's different."
Cochrane won bronze in the 1,500 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Wilkinson earned her bronze in a time of 2:12.09. Australia's Alicia Coutts won in 2:09.70
"I was in the situation I was in medal contention and I succeeded," Wilkinson said. "I didn't freak out. I got the job done. I got my medal."
Hirniak won his bronze in 1:57.26. Chad Le Clos of South Africa won in 1:56.48.
The swim meet has some of the biggest names at the Games, but still lacks many of the world's best swimmers.
Cochrane is ranked seventh in the world in the 400 metres. Olympic champion Tae-Hwan Park of South Korea is not here, along with several of the other top racers at the distance.
