2026 Commonwealth Games Previews: The Stars Are Out In Men’s Sprint Freestyle

2026 Commonwealth Games

• July 24 – 29, 2026 (pool swimming)
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Tollcross International Swimming Centre
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Preview Index

BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE

• World Record: 20.88 – Cameron McEvoy, Australia (2026)
• Commonwealth Record: 20.88 – Cameron McEvoy, Australia (2026)
• Commonwealth Games Record: 21.11 – Ben Proud, England (2018) 
• 2022 Commonwealth Champion– Ben Proud (ENG), 21.36

Aussie Heat

The 50 free belongs to one man right now. Can McEvoy is the world record holder courtesy of the 20.88 he clocked at the China Open in March, and although he was a little slower at Australian Trials there is no doubt that he is the man to beat.

McEvoy shifted his focus to this event in 2022 at the age of 28, although he owns a silver (2014) and a bronze (2018) from previous editions of the Commonwealth Games. The 2023 World Championships was his first individual world title however, coming after a season in which he posted the five fastest times in the world, all under 21.50.

His title-winning time was 21.06, a new Oceanian record and the #2 swim ever in a textile suit. He took a surprise silver at the 2024 championships, posting his slowest swim of the meet in the final, but was back on top in the summer as he won his first Olympic title in 21.25.

He won the world title again last summer, clocking 21.14 as he posted the fastest time in the world for the third year running. This year is his fastest yet, and he is well over half a second faster than any other Commonwealth swimmer this year. If there was one event winner to bet your house on, it would be McEvoy.

Behind him, the podium looks relatively simple to predict. Jamie Jack and Josh Liendo are the only swimmers in the second tier, with lifetime bests of 21.43 and 21.48 respectively, with no one else in the field ever having been under 21.7.

Of this pair, Jack is in the better form coming in, clocking 21.60 and 21.52 at Australian Trials. His PB of 21.43 comes from a time trial at U.S. Nationals last summer, and this season he has shown the consistency and big race temperament to indicate that he can make the podium in is first senior international meet.

Liendo has only been 22.29 in long course so far, but did skip Canadian Trials and has not swum a taper meet since going three-for-three at NCAAs. Since setting his PB, Liendo’s fastest swim is 21.88 from last year’s Canadian Trials. However, with Commonwealths his only meet of the summer, expect him to be back near his best. The 50 free does take place in the same sessions as the 100 fly however, so it would also not be a surprise to see him scratch entirely.

Battle For Final Places To Be Fierce

Flynn Southam, Jacob Mills, and Matt Richards are three of the four other men seeded under 22 seconds. Southam has sliced half a second off his best so far this season, dropping from 22.22 to 21.85 and then 21.72 at Australian Trials. He is the most likely of the three to challenge the podium, although Mills has youth on his side, with Richards far more focused on the 100 free and 200 free.

Southam clocked 21.85 at the Japan Open back in November, then took 3rd at Australian Trials in 21.72, having never been under 22 seconds before this season. He did not swim the 200 free at Australian Trials, which could indicate that the 50 is his secondary focus after the 100 this year.

Mills shaved 0.05 seconds off his best at the Aquatics GB Championships in April, going from 21.96 to 21.91. He did add time last summer, posting times of 21.98 and 22.02 at the World Junior Championships, but is not coming off such a big breakout this year. This summer, there may be more to come for him.

Tolu Young could make history for Fiji. The Pacific Island nation has never had an individual finalist in swimming, Taichi Vakasama coming closest with a 10th place finish in the 200 breast four years ago. However, Young is seeded 6th in the 50 free with his 21.92 from the U.S. Open in December, and had a stellar NCAA season with Arizona State. He probably won’t be in the medal hunt this year, but is more than capable of making the final.

Pieter Coetze will be one to watch if he swims, with a best of 22.02 which he has already neared with a 22.04 in April. His focus will probably be purely on the backstroke events though, especially with little chance of hardware in this event for him.

Lamar Taylor has been consistently under 22.5 so far this season, clocking 22.25 or better on four occasions. His season best stands at 22.10, just 0.05 seconds off his lifetime best from last summer’s World Championships, and he sliced nearly half a second off his lifetime best in SCM with a 21.00 at the Toronto stop of the World Cup tour – a serious time. He will be on a mission to break 22 seconds.

A man who has already done that is Singapore’s Mikkel Lee, currently swimming for Indiana in the NCAA. He set a new lifetime best of 21.95 at the Bergen Swim Festival in April, coming within four hundredths of a second of Jonathan Tan‘s national record. He was a slightly slower 22.24 at the Singaporean Championships, and added time at Worlds last year.

Calvyn Justus is competing at his first international meet for South Africa, having cracked 22 seconds for the first time this April. He took nearly five years away from the sport after 2020, but is on a tear so far this year. He has clocked 22.1 or better on six occasions this season, with a 21.97 from the South African Championships standing as his best. He swam 22.09 and 22.17 in the second week of July in his adopted home of LA, and should be around that time if not better in Glasgow.

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BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE

• World Record: 46.40 – Pan Zhanle, China (2024)
• Commonwealth Record: 47.04 – Cameron McEvoy, Australia (2016)
• Commonwealth Games Record: 47.36 – Kyle Chalmers, Australia (2022)
• 2022 Commonwealth Champion– Kyle Chalmers (AUS), 47.51

Dogfight At The Top

Unlike in the 50 free, there is a real battle brewing for the top spot in the 100 free. Kyle Chalmers is the reigning Commonwealth champion, beating out Tom Dean and Duncan Scott in 2022, but it is Matt Richards who is the fastest man in the Commonwealth so far this season.

The Welshman clocked 47.53 at the Aquatics GB Championships, also posting a time of 47.61 in the heats, and is 0.06 seconds faster than Chalmers so far this season. The Aussie owns a season best of 47.59 from Australian Trials, but his lifetime best of 47.08 is four tenths faster than Richards’ British record of 46.96.

Chalmers has the more star-studded CV, winning everything possible in the 100 free. He won Olympic gold in 2016, world gold in 2023, and Commonwealth gold in 2022, and has proven himself one of the most reliable freestyle relay anchors in history. By contrast, Richards has made just two world finals in the event, placing 5th in 2023 and 8th in 2025, missing not just the podium but the final as well at Commonwealths in 2022.

However, Richards has proven himself a big-game performer in the 200 free, winning world gold in 2023 and Olympic silver in 2024. He looks in his best ever form, posting his fastest in-season times ever, and will be a threat to Chalmers’ hopes of defending his title.

Chalmers may have the edge – he has more speed in the 50 free, and won’t have the split focus that Richards will with the 200 free. This battle will likely be close, but the Aussie should just shade it this time.

Battle For Bronze

Behind that pair are a glut of swimmers in the 47-high to 48-low range. Josh Liendo is the foremost of those, owning a best of 47.55 from both the 2022 World Championships and the 2024 Canadian Trials. He has not broken 48 seconds since the Olympics however, and like in the 50 is yet to swim this event tapered this year. If he swims the event he’ll have to be at his best for a podium place.

Jacob Mills, Flynn Southam, and Pieter Coetze all own bests in the 47.7-47.8 range, with the former the swimmer with perhaps the highest ceiling. Mills clocked 48.03 at last year’s Aquatics GB Championships, then went on to lower his best to 47.74 in the semi-finals at World Juniors before winning silver in 48.22. Another PB of 47.72 this April makes him the #3 Commonwealth swimmer this season.

Southam was 47.94 at Australian Trials, but has a best of 47.69 from last year. He finished 12th at worlds last year in 47.90, but led off the title-winning 4×100 free relay in 47.77. Having set a huge PB of 21.72 in the 50, he may have some extra early speed to lean on.

Coetze has only been 48.18 this year, but led off the 4×100 free relay at the 2025 World University Games in 47.88. He will focus on the backstroke events, but could be a medal threat here as well if he did swim. As this event falls on the penultimate day, with the 100 backstroke semi-final and the mixed medley relay final, he may forgo a triple.

Kai Taylor will be aiming to make his mark in this event in his first international swim in the 100 free. He was 47.97 in December, his first time under 48 seconds, but was 48.21 at Australian Trials for third. He hasn’t always swum his best at major international meets, but expect him to be in the mix for a final.

Gabe Shepherd and Jack McMillan both set big lifetime bests at the Aquatics GB Championships this year, clocking times of 48.43 and 48.37 respectively. Shepherd could be a bolter at just 18, moving on from some fantastic junior swims to a senior team for England, and has some absolutely fantastic technique. McMillan may not swim as he prioritizes his favored 200 free, but has the speed to be a finalist.

Finally, Antoine Sauve has a best of 48.42 from last summer and was clearly not tapered for the recent Canadian Trials, indicating that he is saving his best for this meet. He has just finished up a solid first NCAA season with Michigan, and will be aiming to make it a Canadian double in the final.

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BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE

• World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
• Commonwealth Record: 1:44.06 – Ian Thorpe, Australia (2001)
• Commonwealth Games Record: 1:44.71 – Ian Thorpe, Australia (2002)
• 2022 Commonwealth Champion– Duncan Scott (SCO), 1:45.02

On the men’s side, this looks to be the race of the meet. There will be at least seven men in attendance with lifetime bests of 1:45.30 or better, and we could see the full final under 1:46. That is world championship final level depth, and whoever comes out on top will have had a gauntlet to run.

The British Are Coming

We’ll start with the defending champion. Duncan Scott came back from an illness which had caused him to miss the World Championships to win Commonwealth gold in 1:45.02, ahead of Tom Dean and Elijah Winnington. He has been 1:45.44 this season, placing 3rd at the Aquatics GB Championships, and owns a best of 1:44.26 from 2021. He didn’t swim the event at worlds last year, but did split 1:43.95 on the 4×200 free relay to anchor Great Britain to gold.

He has had an unfortunate knack of being on the wrong end of some tight touches, missing out on Olympic gold by 0.04 seconds in 2021 and by 0.15 seconds in 2024, but will be seeking his third Commonwealth medal in the event after winning bronze in 2018 and gold in 2022. He probably isn’t quite the favorite this year, but count him out of a podium finish at your peril.

The favorite tag probably falls to Wales’ Matt Richards, despite him missing the final at worlds last summer. He won world gold in a lifetime best of 1:44.30 in 2023, then won Olympic silver out of lane 1 in a time of 1:44.74 in 2024. He clocked his fourth-fastest time ever at the Aquatics GB Championships in April, riding a 26.67 final 50 to overhaul Duncan Scott and James Guy and break 1:45 for the fifth time.

Richards had a tough 2022, and ended up placing 5th in 1:47.19 at the Commonwealth Games. However, he has been no worse than 1:45.35 in any of the three seasons since, and with his field-best final 50 he should be able to break the field apart coming into the touch.

James Guy will also be eyeing up a podium finish, but his PB of 1:45.04 puts him squarely in the pack. Sam Short (1:45.16), Jack McMillan (1:45.27) and Kai Taylor (1:45.30) are all within three tenths of a second, and have all set lifetime bests in the last 12 months. Guy is still the fastest of the four, and has clocked times 1:45.04 and 1:45.08 in the last two seasons respectively and is the only one with a world medal in the event. He was the 2015 world champion at the age of 19, and was a feature of international finals over the latter half of the last decade, but the 2025 world final was his first since 2017.

He has also never won a Commonwealth medal in the 200 free. He placed 6th in 2014, 4th in 2018, a tenth of a second off Duncan Scott for bronze, and did not swim the event in 2022. The man with 13 Commonwealth medals will be seeking to add one more, and after out-touching Scott for second at the Aquatics GB Championships in April, 1:45.38 to 1:45.44, he should feel confident that he has the ability to do so.

Making Waves

Sam Short may have the most trouble making the podium, taking on a brutal schedule that includes the 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, and 1500 free. By the time the final of the 200 free comes around on the final day, he will have completed 6km of racing, 3.2km of it on the final day. The men’s 1500 free, both heats and finals, is on the final day, as is the 200 free – he will struggle to come back with another 1:45-low in the final, and could be the big name that misses it.

Taylor knocked half a second off his 1:45.79 PB from the 2023 World Championships at Australian Trials, breaking through after a 1:44.64 split on the 4×200 free at the World Championships last summer. He should push Guy for bronze, but has not fared quite as well individually as he has on relays when it comes to international meets, placing 9th at the 2024 World Championships and 20th at the 2023 edition.

Jack McMillan placed 4th at the Aquatics GB Championships in 1:45.91 in April, but set a lifetime best of 1:45.27 leading off in the heats of the 4×200 free at the World Championships last summer, before winning 400 free gold and 200 free silver at the European Short Course Championships in December. He has not been a consistent 1:45-point swimmer, with only two swims sub-1:46, but has had a fantastic last 12 months and would love to cap it with a medal for Northern Ireland.

Lewis Clareburt is something of a surprise name in the medal hunt, having won the 200 fly and 400 IM in 2022 but setting a monster personal best of 1:45.57 at the Australian Open Championships. He showed some speed in the 400 free as well, clocking 3:46.86 to fall just 0.01 seconds off his New Zealand record in April, and has a 1:46.60 and a 1:47.03 in the 200 free this season as well. With no semi-finals, he should be able to round off his meet with a finals appearance.

Fighting For The Final

A British trio will have designs on the final, having all broken into the 1:46s at the Aquatics GB Championships. Tyler Melbourne-Smith (1:46.67), Gabe Shepherd (1:46.39) and Evan Jones (1:46.50) will swim for Wales, England, and Scotland respectively and all dropped at least a second or so to set their PBs back in April. Shepherd is the fastest riser, while Jones split 1:47.64 on the 4×200 free relay four years ago, and Melbourne-Smith became the #2 Brit in history in the SCM 400 free at the Swim England Winter Championships in December.

The third Australian will most likely be Harrison Turner, unless he declines his spot to allow Ed Summerville to swim. Turner hacked over a second off his best to place 3rd at Australian Trials in 1:45.71, and something similar should be enough for the final. He will have had a full day’s rest between the 200 fly, his main event, and the 200 free, and after he dropped time last summer he should be around his PBs this year at a minimum.

Finally, two swimmers who could prove to be wildcards. The first of them certainly is – Tom Dean, who won international medals three summers in a row from 2021 to 2023, has not swum the 200 free individually at either the 2024 Olympics or 2025 World Championships, and realistically has not been in top form since those Olympics. He took a break at the start of last season, was selected as a discretionary pick for the 2025 World Championships, and placed 23rd in the 200 IM (2:00.76) and splitting 1:46.35 in the heats of the 4×200 free relay. This season, he missed the Aquatics GB Championships through injury and has a season best of just 1:48.48.

Dean probably swims the 200 free individually – England’s third swimmer would be either Max Litchfield or Jacob Mills otherwise, neither of whom are 200 freestylers – and could do just about anything without being too much of a surprise. The most likely outcome, however, is a 1:46-high that misses the final. He has yet to show that anything more should be expected over the last 24 months.

Antoine Sauve, like Dean a national record holder in the 200 free, lowered the Canadian mark last June as he won the ‘B’ final at Canadian Trials in 1:46.39. He added nearly three seconds at the World Championships to finish 37th in 1:49.19, and has not broken 1:48 so far this season. If he can drop time again, which at 21 is not improbable, the final is a realistic outcome. If he repeats his summer performance from last year, he will not have an individual swim in the finals session on June 29th.

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