Australian stars Lachie Kennedy and Torrie Lewis are dreaming of multiple individual Commonwealth Games medals in Glasgow after the red-hot sprinters surged into their respective 200m finals.
Kennedy set a national 100m record while claiming silver at Scotstoun Stadium, where Lewis lowered her own national record when she sped to bronze in the equivalent women's event.
Both backed up with strong 200m semi-final performances on day four of the athletics program, when history-making Rose Davies and Jessica Hull added to Australia's medal tally with a landmark one-two finish in the 10,000m.
Davies became the first woman in Games history to achieve the 5000m-10,000m double.
Expectations of something special in the eight-man 800m final also grew greater on Friday morning (AEST), when Australians Peter Bol, Luke Boyes and Peyton Craig all advanced.
Kennedy (20.12 seconds) missed an automatic qualifying spot in his 200m heat but was one of the two fastest losers from an unfavourable outside lane draw - and third-fastest across all the heats - which was enough to make the final.
Fellow Australians Calab Law (20.60) and Aidan Murphy (20.70) were eliminated.
South Africa's Sinesipho Dambile (19.82) and Canada's Aaron Brown (19.90), who finished first and second in Kennedy's heat, were the only semi-final runners under 20 seconds.
Before the Games, Kennedy declared the 100m was his priority, freely admitting he is "not as invested" in his other sprint events.
But the man who won Australia's first Commonwealth men's sprint medal since 1962 is now eyeing more hardware with a 200m final and 4x100m relay ahead on the program.
"It all depends on the conditions, but I definitely think I can win. That's for sure," Kennedy said.
"I don't know about times. Like, time is so dependent on conditions, but I think I've got what it takes to win.
"But there's some good guys up there, man. So I'm going to have to be at my best."
Lewis, aided by a strong following wind, qualified automatically for the women's final when she crossed the line in 22.64, the same time as Jamaica's Alana Reid.
The pair were involved in a three-way photo finish with England's Success Eduan (22.65), who qualified as one of the two fastest losers.
Australians Monique Hanlon and Mia Gross failed to progress to the women's 200m final.
Only two qualifiers ran faster than Lewis, who is showing no signs of the Achilles injury that had troubled her before the Games.
"I'm in the final so anything can happen," said the 21-year-old.
"I knew it was going to be a really fast heat, with the girls I had running on my inside.
"So I always knew it was going to go down to the line, and I'm just glad I got the dip."
Bol qualified for the 800m final but had to show all his experience to negotiate a rough-and-tumble heat and it also took a huge late effort from Boyes and Craig in the home straight to ensure their progression.
Boyes said the success of their Australian teammates had given the runners belief they can add to the medal tally.
"It's like, shit, if our mates have gone and done that, why can't we go do it as well?" Boyes said.
"Competing as a team brings you on a little bit and makes you a better athlete.
"Come the final, having three Aussies there, we'll be a pretty good chance. We'll go one-two-three."
Michelle Jenneke's bid to land that elusive medal in the 100m hurdles again fell short as the 33-year-old Sydneysider, who'd finished fourth in 2018 and fifth in 2014 and 2022, had to settle for a fifth-place finish yet again.
Jenneke, who shot to fame early in her career for a pre-race dancing routine, clocked 12.84 seconds as Bahamian Devynne Charlton took the gold in 12.33.
