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Moss Burmester set the New Zealand Commonwealth Games campaign alight with a gold medal performance in the pool on the opening day in Melbourne today.

Burmester took out the 200m butterfly to claim the first swimming gold medal since Danyon Loader in 1994 and the fourth time a Kiwi has won this endurance event at a Commonwealth Games. This follows Dave Gerrard in 1966, Anthony Mosse in 1986 and 1990 and Loader in 1994.

The North Shore swimmer crushed a top field to win by more than half a body length in a new Commonwealth Games record of 1:56.64, which also broke his own New Zealand record.

Burmester produced a superbly controlled race with 25.92 for the first length and then three 50m at 30 seconds. He had a full body length advantage at the 150m mark and held off the usually fast finishing Travis Nederpelt and his fellow Australia Joshua Krough.

The Kiwi supporters and team-mates performed a haka after the victory ceremony which brought the capacity audience to their feet.

``It was a perfectly controlled race. He has worked so hard for this and he has learned,’’ Coach Jan Cameron said. ``He has gone out fast but died in the back end of the race like at the world championships. The Australians probably thought he would do it again but he has done the work and has the endurance to back the speed.

``This has really set our campaign off. It is only day one and there’s a lot more swimming to go and this will really motivate the rest of the team.’’

His team-mate Andrew McMillan was fifth just a whisker over the two minute barrier.

In other finals Lauren Boyle was eighth in the 200m freestyle in her second personal best of the day, clocking 2:00.90.

Helen Norfolk finished fifth in the 200m individual medley in 2:16.49, quicker than her qualifying time in the morning, and a solid effort as she builds towards her favoured 400m medley on the final day.

In other action tonight Zoe Baker, Nichola Chellingworth and Scott Talbot-Cameron have all qualified for finals. Baker was fifth fastest in the semifinals of the 50m breaststroke as she looks to defend her title from Manchester. Chellingworth set her second personal best of the day to be fifth fastest in the 50m butterfly in 27.22, while Talbot-Cameron grabbed the eighth spot in the final of the 50m backstroke in 1/100^th of a second outside his national record.