2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
- July 24th – July 20th (pool swimming)
- Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
The South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SASCOC) has revealed the men’s and women’s swimming rosters set to represent the nation at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
Several veterans highlight the lineups, with South Africa hoping to improve upon the 5th-place finish in the swimming medal table four years ago in Birmingham, England.
Olympic champion Chad le Clos has the chance to make history, with the 34-year-old headed to remarkably his sixth Commonwealth Games.
He has amassed 18 medals since 2010, currently sharing the most ever won by a male with shooters Phillip Adams of Australia and Mick Gault of England. Should le Clos surge to any tier of the podium, he would stand alone with an impressive 19 pieces of hardware across his entire Commonwealth Games career.
Another notable swimmer on the men’s side is Calvyn Justus. At the South African National Swimming Championships in April, 30-year-old Justus captured his first national title in a decade, reaping gold in the men’s 50m fly.
We reported Justus’ comeback story, with the South African after having been out of the water for five years, including a year where he was unable to walk due to a devastating back injury.
Olympian and world champion Pieter Coetze is the sole gold men’s medalist from the 2022 Commonwealth Games He brought home a trio of medals from Birmingham, including 100m back gold, 50m back silver and 200m back bronze.
As for the women, Lara van Niekerk will attempt to repeat as champion in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke races, with Kaylene Corbett also making the squad, trying to improve upon her 200m breast bronze.
Racing mainstay Erin Gallagher has also been named to the roster, along with ever-improving Aimee Canny.
Canny had quite a showing at the Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis last month, breaking the South African records in the 200m free (1:56.59) and 200m IM (2:09.99) while clocking PBs in the 100m breast (1:05.97) and 200m breast (2:23.61). Canny says she’s been training in the distance group at UVA this season and it has not only helped her endurance, but her speed as well.
Of note, the SASCOC has announced financial incentives for athletes and teams that earn medals in Glasgow.
At the time of publishing, the South African Rand to U.S. Dollar conversion was 1R = .061USD.
- Individual events:
- Athletes who win gold will be awarded R100 000, with the coach receiving R15 000
- Silver medallists will earn R50 000, with the coach receiving R10 000
- Bronze medal pay-outs will be R25 000 and R5 000 for the athlete and coach
- For relays and team sports:
- R25 000 per athlete and R15 000 to the coach for a gold medal
- R12 500 per athlete and R7 500 to the coach for a silver medal
- R6 250 per athlete and R3 750 to the coach for a bronze medal
South African Men’s Roster
Pieter Coetze
Ruard van Renen
Michael Houlie
Chris Smith
Calvyn Justus
Chad le Clos
Jarden Eaton
Guy Brooks
Kris Mihaylov
South African Women’s Roster
Aimee Canny
Rebecca Meder
Erin Gallagher
Jessica Thompson
Kayleen Corbett
Lara van Niekerk
Hannah Pearse
Caitlin de Lange
Hannah Robertson
Georgia Nel
Dune Coetzee
Olivia Nel
