2026 Commonwealth Games
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A pair of English swimmers set new Commonwealth Games records in the S14 200 free tonight, with Georgia Sheffield and Will Ellard claiming the gold medals.
WOMEN’S S14 200 FREESTYLE – FINAL
- World Record: 2:02.09 – Bethany Firth (NIR), 2016
Commonwealth Games Record – 2:07.02, Bethany Firth (NIR), 2022- 2022 Champion – Bethany Firth (NIR), 2:07.02
GOLD – Georgia Sheffield (ENG), 2:06.07 *Commonwealth Games Record*
SILVER – Poppy Maskill (ENG), 2:07.44
BRONZE – Bethany Firth (NIR), 2:07.63
Bethany Firth was the defending champion and the top seed into the final, but Georgia Sheffield rode some fantastic underwaters to come home strong and stretch out a comfortable lead down the final 50.
She made her move on the third 50 with a split of 32.16, then had the fastest final 50 with a 32.57 as she won by 1.37 seconds over Poppy Maskill.
That marks a huge lifetime best for Sheffield, hacking 1.44 seconds off the 2:07.51 she posted at the Aquatics GB Championships in April. She took the win there as well, but by a far narrower 0.07 second margin.
| Split | Previous PB – Aquatics GB Championships, 2:07.51 | Old Commonwealth Games record (Bethany Firth) – 2022 Commonwealth Games, 2:07.02 | New Commonwealth Games record (Georgia Sheffield) – 2026 Commonwealth Games, 2:06.07 |
| 50 | 29.76 | 28.88 | 28.34 |
| 100 | 1:01.86 (32.10) | 1:00.02 (31.14) | 1:01.34 (32.00) |
| 150 | 1:34.40 (32.54) | 1:32.83 (32.81) | 1:33.50 (32.16) |
| 200 | 2:07.51 (33.11) | 2:07.02 (34.19) | 2:06.07 (32.57) |
Sheffield’s time tonight sliced nearly a second of Bethany Firth‘s Games record of 2:07.02 from the 2022 Games. Firth won bronze tonight in a time of 2:07.63 after leading the race at the halfway point.
Sheffield closed over a second and a half faster than Firth’s record over the last 50 meters, splitting 1:04.63 on the second half of the race compared to 1:07.00 for Firth in 2022.
MEN’s S14 200 FREESTYLE – FINAL
- World Record: 1:51.08 – Will Ellard (GBR), 2025
Commonwealth Games Record – 1:53.52, Will Ellard (ENG), 2026- 2022 Champion – Nicholas Bennett (CAN), 1:54.97
GOLD – William Ellard (ENG), 1:51.66 *Commonwealth Games Record*
SILVER – Jack Ireland (AUS), 1:55.22
BRONZE – Rhys Darbey (WAL), 1:56.24
Will Ellard hacked nearly two seconds off the Commonwealth Games record of 1:53.52 he set this morning, rocketing to a time of 1:51.66 in the final to win his first Commonwealth gold medal.
He was out in a rapid 53.42, two tenths slower than in his swim this morning, but had a much stronger second half of the race. He was 58.24 on the second 100 this evening, compared to 1:00.30 in the heats.
Split Comparison
| Split | Season Best – Dutch Nationals, 1:51.10 | Old Commonwealth Games record – 2026 Commonwealth Games, 1:53.52 | New Commonwealth Games record – 2026 Commonwealth Games, 1:51.66 |
| 50 | 26.09 | 25.47 | 25.38 |
| 100 | 54.09 (28.00) | 53.22 (27.75) | 53.42 (28.04) |
| 150 | 1:22.30 (28.21) | 1:23.11 (29.89) | 1:22.06 (28.64) |
| 200 | 1:51.10 (28.80) | 1:53.52 (30.41) | 1:51.66 (29.60) |
At just 20 years of age Ellard has now completed the quadruple in this event – he is the reigning World, Olympic, European, and Commonwealth Champion. He will not be resting on his laurels though – in his interview after his swim he stated a goal to do the sweep another three or four times in his career.
The S14 200 m freestyle men’s final was uncomfortable to watch. There were only five competitors to start with, and one was disqualified. Not to take anything away from the para swimmers who were selected and competed, or from Ellard’s Games record, but looking at this year’s world rankings, another Canadian and another Australian swimmer were ranked higher than four of the five swimmers in the field. I can’t imagine selectors leaving second or third ranked able-bodied Commonwealth swimmers at home to watch the Games from the couch. I hope those para swimmers chose not to compete, because if they wanted to be there and missed out through selection, it raises uncomfortable questions about how para swimming is being valued.