Magical moment for Taylor after earlier disappointments

The 18-year-old broke her own British record as she came home in 1:06.35, virtually a full second ahead of Australian Lorna Tonks. Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson took bronze.

Taylor’s team-mate, Aimee Wilmott, soon secured her second medal of the tournament, claiming a silver in the 200m butterfly behind Canadian Audrey Lacroix.

Sheffield-born swimmer Taylor claimed personal redemption in the 100m breaststroke, exceeding her own expectations in the process.

The 18-year-old said: “After, in my eyes, a disappointing week, I just went for it and hoped that I could get a medal; even if it was a bronze or silver, I just wanted a medal.

“So I saw the end in sight and I said to myself that I would give it my all and I found a sudden burst of energy.

“It meant everything after just missing out on a medal in the 50 and not even making the final in the 200.

“I knew that I had to make a comeback and to get my mind refocused and positive again and so to come off with a gold and a British record means a lot to me.”

Ollie Hynd had earlier taken gold in the para-sport 200m individual medley.

England’s Adam Barrett won his second medal, another bronze, in the 100m butterfly final. The 21-year-old could not keep up with 200m champion Chad le Clos, who set a new Games record of 51.29, and came in behind Joseph Schooling of Singapore.

There was disappointment for many in the crowd in the men’s 50m breaststroke final as South African world record holder Cameron van der Burgh pipped England’s 100m gold medallist Adam Peaty. Van der Burgh came home in 26.76, two-hundredths of a second ahead of Peaty, while Scot Mark Tully was one-hundredth of a second behind Australian bronze medallist Christian Sprenger.

England’s badminton players had mixed emotions after settling for silver in the Commonwealth Games team competition – beaten 3-1 by defending champions Malaysia at the Emirates Arena.

Leeds’s Gabby Adcock and husband Chris – ranked fifth in the world – got the tie off to an exhilarating start when they claimed a dramatic 2-0 mixed doubles victory against Chan Peng Soon and Pei Jing Lai

But England subsequently lost both the men’s singles and men’s doubles before Malaysia powered to victory with women’s singles success. The final women’s doubles rubber was not played.

“I think when we started the tournament, if you’d offered us a silver we would have taken it,” said England’s Rajiv Ouseph.