2026 Commonwealth Games: Day 3 Men’s 4×200 Free Relay Analysis

2026 Commonwealth Games

• July 24 – 29, 2026 (pool swimming)
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Tollcross International Swimming Centre
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entries
• Preview Index
• How to Watch
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

MEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• World Record – 6:58.55, USA, 2009
• Commonwealth Record – 7:00.85, Australia, 2019
• Commonwealth Games Record – 7:04.96, Australia, 2022
• 2022 Champion – Australia, 7:04.96

GOLD – Australia – 7:01.67 *Commonwealth Games Record*
SILVER – England –  7:04.98
BRONZE – Wales – 7:09.59

Australia blazed a new Commonwealth Games record of 7:01.67 tonight in the men’s 4×200 free relay, but did not have the fastest leadoff nor the fastest split of the night. Matt Richards and James Guy took those honors for Wales and England, respectively, as both of their nations made it onto the podium.

Leadoff Legs

Matt Richards had the fastest leadoff leg for Wales, match-racing his way through a duel with Sam Short and Gabriel Shepherd. He clocked 1:45.42, off his season best of 1:44.77 and his Welsh record of 1:44.30, but enough to give Wales a lead of over half a second. He split 51.45/53.97, taking over the lead after 50 meters and increasing his lead on every length after that.

Sam Short was also off his season best, nearly a second slower than his 1:45.16 from Australian Trials and not quite matching Richards’ pace on the final 100.

Gabriel Shepherd swam the second-fastest time of his career for England with a 1:46.67, showcasing the potential he has in the individual 200 free later this week with a 27.10 final 50.

George Smith was half a second off his lifetime best of 1:49.02 for Scotland, having split 1:48.65 this morning, while James Allison was just off his best of 1:50.38 with a 1:50.43 for the Cayman Islands.

Hoe Yean Khiew was well off his best of 1:47.81 with a 1:51.03, continuing what has been a relatively poor meet for him so far after adding seven seconds to miss the 400 free final. Aneesh Gowda was a second off his best for India, but Jersey’s Sam Sterry lowered his by over a second with the only PB among the eight leadoff legs.

Rolling Splits

James Guy and Kai Taylor were a class apart on their legs, splitting 1:44-lows to break Ed Sommerville and Max Litchfield, respectively. Guy notched the second-fastest split of a tremendous relay career, while Taylor swam his fastest split by nearly half a second.

Sommerville wasn’t broken too badly, as he split 1:45.34 having gone out in 49.87. He had the third-fastest split in 1:45.34, just ahead of Scotland’s Duncan Scott in 1:45.58.

Scott delivered his split on the anchor leg, being a little too far back from Wales for him to run them down although he was over a second faster in this race four years ago with a 1:44.48. Evan Jones split 1:47.33 on the third leg for the host nation, the seventh-fastest split in the field.

Australia had three of the top six, with Harrison Turner the last man under 1:46 in 1:45.95, while Tom Dean split a very solid 1:45.63 as he rounds into form at this meet, his best since the Paris Olympics.

Tyler Melbourne-Smith and Kieran Bird posted 1:47.5s for the Welsh team that won bronze in a new national record of 7:09.59, with Dan Jones‘ 1:49.13 the other leg for them. England had a 1:48.65 anchor from Max Litchfield, who looked in shock at Kai Taylor‘s speed on the second 100, closing in 57.43.

Matt Ward split 1:48.55 for the Scots, with Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal dipping under 1:50 for Malaysia with a 1:49.93 split. Indian record holder Srihari Nataraj was just 1:51.61, well off his national record of 1:48.11.