Thorpe glory march begins

Ian Thorpe began his bid for a record seven golds with an easy win in the heats of the 400 metres freestyle at the Commonwealth Games.

He coasted the first half of his heat before stretching out to win comfortably in three minutes 47.24 seconds.

The Australian left plenty in the bag for the final and his other six events as he was still well outside his own world record of 3mins 40.17secs.

Thorpe is aiming to become the first competitor to pick up seven golds in a major games since Mark Spitz at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

He looks certain to break his Commonwealth record of 3mins 44.35secs, set in Kuala Lumpur when he won five golds as a 15-year-old.

The only medal doubt for Thorpe this time is Saturday's 100m backstroke in which he starts as a rare second favourite behind compatriot Matt Welsh.

Fellow Australian Grant Hackett, second fastest in the world over 400m, produced a time of 3mins 49.13secs to win his heat.