SwimSwam Pulse: 64.7% Think Men’s 200 Free Stands In The Way of Aussie Free Sweep At Comm Games

SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.

Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers if Australia’s freestyle dominance will result in a clean sweep at the Commonwealth Games this summer:

Question: Will Australia win every freestyle event at the Commonwealth Games?

RESULTS

• No – men’s 200 free will go to one of the Brits – 64.7%
• No – Wiffen takes at least one of the distance events from Short – 13.5%
• Yes – 11.5%
• No – upset on the women’s side – 5.9%
• No – one of McEvoy (50) or Chalmers (100) is upset – 4.7%

The Australian women have been a dominant force in freestyle events for the better part of the past decade, and although some of their stalwarts have recently retired, such as Ariarne Titmus, Cate Campbell and Emma McKeon, they might be the strongest they’ve ever been in terms of high-end ability across each distance.

While previewing the Commonwealth Games for the next issue of SwimSwam Magazine, it dawned on me that not only are the Aussie women likely to sweep the freestyle events this summer in Glasgow, but the men might do so as well.

The Australian women pulled off the sweep at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, as McKeon (50), Mollie O’Callaghan (200) and Titmus (400, 800, 1500) claimed the freestyle titles, while the men went three-for-five. Kyle Chalmers won the 100 free, Elijah Winnington claimed the 400 free, and Sam Short got the job done in the 1500 free. England’s Ben Proud (50 free) and Scotland’s Duncan Scott (200 free) won the other free events to prevent an Aussie sweep.

Heading into the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the Australians are clearly in the driver’s seat in the free events. Across all 12 individual freestyle events on the program, as the women’s 1500 and men’s 800 have been added to the 2026 schedule, Australians own the fastest time over the last 16 months in 10 of them.

Fastest Commonwealth Eligible Swimmers, Jan 2025 to April 2026

*Summer McIntosh was faster, but won’t compete at the Commonwealth Games this year.

Up until last week, Australians owned the fastest time in 11 of the 12 events, but Matt Richards‘ 1:44.77 200 free at the Aquatics GB Championships overtook Edward Sommerville‘s 1:44.93 clocking from last year.

In our latest poll, we asked SwimSwam readers which outcome was most likely—the Aussies sweep all the freestyle events, or they’re denied somewhere.

The majority of votes went to the men’s 200 free being the event where Australia will most likely see their chances of a freestyle sweep end.

Although Sommerville’s 1:44.93 clocking from last June’s Australian Trials made him the fastest swimmer from a Commonwealth country in 2025, the Brits have been a consistent force in the event and have several men who could easily win the 200 free at the Commonwealth Games.

Last year, Scott and James Guy weren’t far off Sommerville’s time in 1:45.08, while Jack McMillan was 1:45.28 and Richards was 1:45.35.

After Richards, the 2024 Olympic champion in the event, went 1:44.77 at the 2026 Aquatics GB Championships in April, he became the favorite heading into the Commonwealth Games, while Guy (1:45.38) and Scott (1:45.44) also had solid swims last week to keep their names in the running.

However, it is worth noting that Sommerville went 1:45.34 at the Japan Open back in November, and he’s yet to race tapered in 2026.

Earning the second-most votes was the prospect of Daniel Wiffen taking down Sam Short in at least one of the distance events.

Last year, Short was significantly faster than anyone in the Commonwealth in the 400 free, while in the 800 free, he held just over a half-second advantage on Wiffen, 7:40.95 to 7:41.52. Wiffen was slightly quicker in the 1500, 14:42.71 to 14:43.08.

This year, however, Wiffen hasn’t been performing up to his own expectations, while Short has found some momentum early in 2026 and figures to have some strong performances at the Australian Trials in June.

Looking strictly at personal best times, Short has been faster in the 800 free, 7:37.76 to 7:38.12, despite Wiffen being the reigning Olympic champion, while Wiffen has more than three and a half seconds on Short in the 1500, 14:34.07 to 14:37.28.

The #3 option in the poll was yes, Australia will sweep the free events, which is certainly possible if Sommerville, or perhaps another contender like Flynn Southam, Max Giuliani or Short, can pull off a victory in the 200 free.

On the women’s side, Meg Harris is the clear favorite in the 50 free, while in the 100 free, Harris and teammate Mollie O’Callaghan are head and shoulders ahead of anyone in the field.

The 200 free is all O’Callaghan, while in the 400, 800 and 1500 free, Lani Pallister should dominate her way to a trio of gold medals. Canadian Summer McIntosh would’ve posed a big threat in the 400 free, and possibly the 200 or 800, depending on her schedule, but she opted out of the Commonwealth Games in order to focus on Pan Pacs.

According to the poll, the least likely scenario is that the Australian men are upset in either the 50 free, where Cameron McEvoy is the man to beat after breaking the world record last month, or the 100 free, where Kyle Chalmers is the defending champion and the fastest man among eligible countries last year.

Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which relay world record is more likely this summer?

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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE

The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.