Zac Stubblety-Cook has never experienced a delay quite like it.
As Stubblety-Cook and multiple Australian swimmers cruised through their heats on day one of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, a broken lane rope provided an unwanted distraction.
"They were debating which lifeguards can jump in," Stubblety-Cook said after qualifying for the semi-finals of the men's 100m breaststroke.
"We got there in the end. That's sport, right?
"I've never had a delay that long. I was lucky I had all my gear on the blocks, so I think it's lucky they caught it because the officials (had) no clue that it was happening until it was probably pulled out."
Stubblety-Cook was "a little worried for a second" by the issue that occurred in his lane and feared he might be sent to the bottom of the pool to locate a hook that had come loose.
In the end, it took officials more than 10 minutes to repair the damage.
English great Adam Ramsay-Peaty was also caught up in the drama, but overcame the setback to post the fastest time (59.46 seconds) in the heats ahead of Australia's Sam Williamson.
"It doesn't help, does it? That's sport. Stuff goes wrong," Ramsay-Peaty said.
"It doesn't help losing all that heat ... it's an extra 10 minutes where you're losing hydration ... but I've done a lot better in worse conditions.
"Scoreboards break, boxes break.
"It's only 10 minutes, right? Hopefully, it doesn't happen again before the semi."
Also on day one, Lani Pallister set up the chance to become Australia's first gold medallist in the Glasgow 2026 pool by cruising into the women's 400m freestyle final.
Australia's men's and women's 4x100m relay teams also comfortably secured passage to their respective finals, leading a raft of medal chances on night one at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.
Star pair Kyle Chalmers and Mollie O'Callaghan are set to come in to lead the relays on Saturday morning (AEST) after inexperienced teams got their jobs done without any fuss in the heats.
Australian William Petric qualified fastest for the men's 200m individual medley final, with countryman Brendon Smith and Scotland's local hero Duncan Scott among his medal rivals.
