By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam
2026 Commonwealth Games
July 24 – 29, 2026 (pool swimming) Glasgow, Scotland Tollcross International Swimming Centre LCM (50m) Meet CentralFor the first time, the 800 free has been added to the men’s event lineup at the Commonwealth Games, although this year that looks like just another event for Sam Short to rack up the medals in. He was on fire at the Australian Trials, and with main Commonwealth rival Dan Wiffen – who he beat head-to-head in both the 400 free and 1500 free four years – out of form, a distance sweep looks the most likely outcome.
BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE
World Record: 3:39.96 – Lukas Maertens, Germany (2025) Commonwealth Record: 3:40.08 – Ian Thorpe, Australia (2002) Commonwealth Games Record: 3:40.08 – Ian Thorpe, Australia (2002) 2022 Commonwealth Champion– Elijah Winnington (AUS), 3:43.06Two Big Names, One Big Performer?
Sam Short will be the favorite in the 400 free as the only entrant who has been under 3:44 this season. He clocked a monster 3:40.67 at Australian Trials, shaving 0.01 seconds off the time in which he won world gold in 2023, and looks in fantastic form this season.
Short won silver in 3:45.07 in 2022, and placed 4th at the 2024 Olympics and 2nd at the 2025 World Championships. It looks almost certain that this will be the first time that he returns to the top of a podium since 2023.
He has been building through the season, clocking 3:45.88 in December, 3:43.49 in March, 3:42.53 in April, and then 3:40.67 in June. He has stated that 3:39 is in his sights, and it wouldn’t be too much of a shock if he cracked Lukas Maerten’s world record of 3:39.96 in Glasgow.
From the biggest favorite in the event to its biggest enigma. Dan Wiffen owns a PB of 3:44.35 from the 2023 Malmstein Swim Open, but his fastest swim since is a 3:46.65 from the 2024 World Championships. So far this season, his best time is a 3:49.35 from the Irish Championships.
It has been a below-par season for the Irishman, who has announced in April that he would move his training base from Cal back to Ireland. That comes less than 12 months after he initially moved to Cal, and indicates that it may not be a vintage summer for him.
At his best, Wiffen is a medal contender. At his most realistic, he is probably mid-pack in this final.
Rekindling Old Flames
James Guy, who has surprisingly returned to the over the last year or so event after nearly a decade away, has the second-fastest season best of anyone entered at 3:44.04. That is his fastest time in the event in a decade, since he clocked 3:43.84 at the 2016 British Championships.
Guy has twice been the bronze medalist, placing 3rd in 2014 (3:44.58) and in 2018 (3:45.32). He did not race the event in 2022, but is on track for a third podium a full 12 years after his first.
He has proven himself a big race swimmer in the past as well, dropping time in the summer at the 2024 Olympics and then making the 200 free final at the 2025 World Championships. Although probably better known for his relay performances, he is the 2015 world champion in the 200 free and was a three-time world finalist in the 400 free between 2013 and 2017.
He is unlikely to be much slower than his time from the Aquatics GB Championships, and could even have his 3:43.75 national record in his sights. The only question will be whether he scratches the event.
Elijah Winnington is the reigning Commonwealth champion in the event, winning gold in the same year that he won his first and only world championships title. However, he has been trending downwards in the years since, placing 7th at 2023 Worlds, 2nd at the 2024 World Championships and the 2024 Olympic Games, and then missing the final at 2025 Worlds entirely as he placed 10th.
The Challengers
His time from Australian Trials was his slowest since 2019, and he has added time in the summer for the past three seasons. Although he and Guy are entered almost level, there is more reason to doubt that Winnington can repeat his performances.
Benjamin Goedemans clocked 3:45.85 at Australian Trials, but was 3:45.57 12 months prior. He is probably the most likely swimmer to take advantage if one of the top four slip up, although Northern Ireland’s Jack McMillan is the reigning European short course champion and set a new best of 3:46.82 at the Aquatics GB Championships.
He also set a big PB at the World Championships last summer, dropping from 3:48.86 to 3:47.28, and has cemented himself as a 1:45-point swimmer in the 200 free. In long course however, the 400 looks just a tad too long for him, as evidenced by the 1:50.44/1:56.38 splits for his swim in April.
Tyler Melbourne-Smith also set a PB at the Aquatics GB Championships, slicing off a second to touch in 3:47.17. That should see him make the final for Wales, but a podium would be a long shot.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Place Name Nation Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Sam Short AUS 3:40.67 3:40.67 2 James Guy ENG 3:44.04 3:43.75 3 Elijah Winnington AUS 3:44.17 3:41.22 4 Benjamin Goedemans AUS 3:45.85 3:45.57 5 Tyler Melbourne-Smith WAL 3:47.17 3:47.17 6 Dan Wiffen NIR 3:49.35 3:44.35 7 Jack McMillan NIR 3:46.82 3:46.82 8 Kieran Bird WAL 3:50.95 3:45.63BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 800 FREESTYLE
World Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, China (2009) Commonwealth Record: 7:36.73 – Sam Short, Australia (2026) Commonwealth Games Record: N/A (first time inclusion) 2022 Commonwealth Champion– N/A (first time inclusion)Giving Short Shrift To The Rest Of The Field
A bit of a theme here, as Sam Short is again the heavy favorite. He clocked a new PB of 7:36.73 at Australian Trials, the #3 swim in history, and has the fastest season best by nearly 11 seconds.
He probably won’t go out in a 3:45 again, but he is by far the best 800 freestyler in this field right now. He has more speed in the 200 free and 400 free than anyone else entered in this event, and has the strength to back it up in the second half of the race.
He is yet to swim an international final in the event since his world silver medal in 2023. He placed 9th in the heats at the Paris Olympics, before withdrawing from the 2025 world championship final due to illness after qualifying second fastest out of the heats.
That will almost certainly change this summer. He broke 7:40 for the first time since 2023 at the Australian Trials, lowering his best by a second from 7:37.76 to 7:36.73 and overtaking Ahmed Hafnaoui and Ahmed Jaouadi on the all-time list. That puts him more than a second ahead of Dan Wiffen, and nearly ten ahead of third seed Ben Goedemans.
His big-game mettle is not in question. Illness struck in both Paris and Singapore, and he has proven himself an elite racer in the 400 free. He has had some fantastic swims in the 800 free already this season, clocking 7:40.98 and 7:41.04 earlier this year before his 7:36.73 at Trials, and should blow the field away. No one can live with the pace he will go out in, and Wiffen is not in good enough form to make it a race on the back half.
Return Of The Olympic Champion?
The 800 free is Dan Wiffen’s best event, and the one in which he won Olympic gold in 2024. He has lost his European record to Johannes Liebmann this year, but has a strong shot at a podium in Glasgow. Short looks too good to be beaten this season (although peak Wiffen up against Short would be a battle for the ages in this event) but Wiffen should feel that the rest of the field are not quite on his level.
His best stands at 7:38.19, set at the Paris Olympics, but has broken 7:45 on only one occasion since. That came at the 2025 Irish Championships, where he clocked 7:41.52, but he had a disastrous swim in his most recent international final.
He finished a distant 8th at the 2025 world championships in 7:58.56, more than 20 seconds off his best and nearly eight seconds behind 7th place finisher Benjamin Goedemans. His best so far this season is only a 7:50.37, with his most recent two swims being 7:58.08 and 7:56.48.
However, he is still just over a year removed from that 7:41.52 swim. In front of as close to a home crowd as he will get at a Commonwealth Games, he should be able to push through for silver.
Podium Contenders
Benjamin Goedemans is the second seed, and is 12th in the overall world rankings this season thanks to his 7:47.62 from Australian Trials, but owns a best of 7:46.16 from last June.
He added time at worlds last summer, clocking 7:48.66 in the heats and 7:50.72 in the final, and similar swims this summer will put him in danger of missing the podium. Fellow Aussie Matt Galea will be the one for him to watch out for in that case, as he is the #3 seed thanks to the 7:49.09 he swam at Australian Trials.
The Commonwealth field is relatively weak, with no British swimmers outside Wiffen having been under 8:00 this season. This will realistically come down to the Irishman and the three Australian swimmers.
British Champion Reece Grady was not selected to England’s squad, so the Brits with the fastest season bests in the field outside of Wiffen are Scotland’s Luke Hornsey and Sean McCann. They both set lifetime bests just over 8:00 at the Aquatics GB Championships of 8:00.18 and 8:00.45 respectively, so will be aiming to become just the fourth Scot to break that barrier but the podium looks out of reach.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Place Name Nation Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Sam Short AUS 7:36.73 7:36.73 2 Dan Wiffen NIR 7:50.37 7:38.19 3 Benjamin Goedemans AUS 7:47.62 7:46.16 4 Matt Galea AUS 7:49.09 7:49.09 5 Luke Hornsey SCO 8:00.18 8:00.18 6 Nathan Wiffen NIR 8:10.40 7:54.60 7 Aryan Nehra IND 7:59.36 7:59.36 8 Sean McCann SCO 8:00.45 8:00.18BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE
World Record: 14:30.67 – Bobby Finke, USA (2024) Commonwealth Record: 14:34.07 – Dan Wiffen, Northern Ireland (2024) Commonwealth Games Record: 14:41.66 – Kieran Perkins, Australia (1994) 2022 Commonwealth Champion– Sam Short (AUS), 14:48.54Sam Short is the top seed in the 1500 free, but his shift in focus down towards the 200 rather than the 1500 as his third event could leave the door ajar for Dan Wiffen if he can return to something near his best.
Short is the fastest man in the commonwealth this season at 14:42.09, and could be closer to his best of 14:37 if he takes it out a little slower than the 7:42 800m split with which he opened his Australian Trials swim.
He hasn’t cracked 14:40 since winning bronze at the 2023 World Championships, but he is the only one in this field with the same combination of talent and form. It would be a shock if he were any slower than 14:45, and that looks good enough for gold currently.
Dan Wiffen would be the biggest reason why that time may not be enough. He is the 2024 world champion and one of the fastest men in history, but is yet to break 14:50 this season and scratched the event at the 2025 World Championships.
At his best, he has the relentless, consistent pace to take Short into the pain cave and leave him there, but it has been a couple of years now since we have seen him at that level.
For a swimmer who typically is very fast in-season, his swims this year have left a lot to be desired. He is nearly ten seconds slower so far this season than he was at this point 12 months ago, and this is his first year without a sub-14:50 swim by June since 2022.
Wiffen could be trying a different approach to the summer, hit his taper, and blow the field away en route to his first Commonwealth gold medal. However, it seems more likely that the move to Cal has backfired, and this year will be more like his 2025 season than his 2024 one.
Bronze will come down to a pair of Australians who almost could not be separated at Trials at the start of June. Matt Galea and Benjamin Goedemans have both represented Australia internationally in recent years, but without being close to a global podium.
They both clocked 14:50s at this year’s Australian Trials, Galea just getting the edge 14:50.22 to 14:50.67. That was a lifetime best for both swimmers, seven seconds for Galea and two seconds for Goedemans.
Goedemans qualified to swim the event for Australia at last years world championships, but withdrew with illness having set a PB of 14:52.99 en route to silver at Australian Trials. Galea’s previous best of 14:57.19 was from 2023, but he is yet to represent Australia internationally. Goedemans’ consistent drops in recent years just give him the edge here, but it really could go either way for bronze.
The host nation will have Sean McCann and Luke Hornsey featuring, as in the 800 free, with the order of PBs flipped. While both should make the final, owning bests of 15:22.86 and 15:23.73 respectively, they would be hard-pressed to trouble the medals. England will have no competitors after leaving British Champion Reece Grady off the team, but with a 15:08 lifetime best he would also need the swim of his life to challenge the top four.
The man most likely to claim fifth spot looks to be India’s Aryan Nehra, who shattered his national record at the Indian Championships last month in 15:14.88. That was a six second PB, and he should move up from a 7th place finish last year.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Place Name Nation Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Sam Short AUS 14:42.09 14:37.28 2 Dan Wiffen NIR 14:51.38 14:34.07 3 Benjamin Goedemans AUS 14:50.67 14:50.67 4 Matt Galea AUS 14:57.19 14:50.22 5 Aryan Nehra IND 15:14.88 15:14.88 6 Nathan Wiffen NIR 15:20.88 15:06.48 7 Sean McCann SCO 15:22.86 15:22.86 8 Luke Hornsey SCO 15:23.73 15:23.73Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 Commonwealth Games Previews: Sam Short Eyes Up A Distance Sweep
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