By Mark Wild on SwimSwam
2026 Commonwealth Games
July 24 – 29, 2026 (pool swimming) Glasgow, Scotland Tollcross International Swimming Centre LCM (50m) Meet Central Preview Index EntriesMEN’S 4×100 Medley Relay – By the Numbers
World Record: 3:26.76 – USA (Murphy, Andrew, Dressel, Apple), 2021 Commonwealth Record: 3:28.64 – Australia (Delaney, Rickard, Lauterstein, Targett), 2009 Games Record: 3:31.04 – Australia (Larkin, Packard, Irvine, Chalmers), 2018 2022 Champion: England (Williams, Wilby, Guy, Dean) – 3:31.80Four years ago in Birmingham, the English team of Brodie Williams, James Wilby, James Guy and Tom Dean ignited their home crowd fans as they held off a fast-charging Australian duo of Matt Temple and Kyle Chalmers to win gold in the men’s 4×100 medley 3:31.80 to 3:31.88. Both nations, as well as the bronze-winning Scottish team, return to the field this year, and each team has reloaded and strengthened their front end, with the men’s backstroke field among the most competitive. The podium from last year, though, is far from set as Canada and especially South Africa have stars that could pull their teams into the medal conversation.
England took the win four years ago by a slim margin, but have brought in some new legs to improve their chances of retaining that position. It’s hard to break down how the team has performed over the past four years, as Great Britain’s constituent nations only compete separately at the Commonwealth Games. Still, the English have certainly, on paper, drastically improved upon their weakness from Birmingham by finding some new backstrokers.
Four years ago, the English used Luke Greenbank in prelims. A strong backstroker, but more built for the 200, his 54.28 in prelims was replaced by Brodie Williams in the final. Williams, who took silver in the individual 100, was unable to equal his 53.91 from that final, but still put England into the lead with a 54.02 lead-off leg. This year, however, all three of England’s entries are under those times, with Oliver Morgan leading the way with his seed time of 52.12. His time is from last year and stands as the national record, but he was right near that mark at British Trials as he took the win in 52.41. Adam Ramsay-Peaty, the best sprint breaststroker ever, was with the English squad last year but was not part of the relay conversation, competing only in individual events. Ramsay-Peaty won the 100 at April’s Championships in 58.97 and currently ranks 6th in the world, so looks to be a strong bet to get the spot, but Max Morgan, 59.56 at trials, could be tapped if Ramsay-Peaty doesn’t swim.
Both James Guy and Tom Dean are on the Commonwealth roster but are very unlikely to be on the roster, as neither is entered in those individual events. While both are a loss, England has two swimmers that they can use on the fly leg. Edward Mildred, 51.02, and Jacob Peters, 51.34, in April are strong legs and potential medalists in the individual 100 final, as the pair come in respectively as the 3rd and 5th seeds. While he took 2nd back in April in the 100 free, Jacob Mills was the fastest swimmer eligible for Team England, and looks to be the pick to anchor their team. He was 48.09 three months ago in the final, but he set a PB in prelims of 47.72 and could, with a relay start, challenge Dean’s anchor of 47.34 from four years ago.
England is not alone in rebuilding their roster, as Australia has made improvements on their front end. The Aussies finished 6th in the Olympic final, .02 faster than their time from the Commonwealth Games, but did not field a relay last year at Worlds in Singapore, as both breaststroke legs were injured and the team was greatly affected by sickness, finishing 11th in prelims. This year, however, they look to be in good form to challenge for the gold again. The young Henry Allan will likely get the nod on the front end with his PB of 53.45, hoping to keep the Australians close to Team England’s Morgan. He’ll turn things over to Sam Williamson, who posted a swift 59.07 at Australian Trials, a time that is particularly noteworthy as not only does he rank 7th in the world this season, but it comes off of an extended time away from the sport as he rehabbed a knee injury.
While the Aussies’ front half will likely be trailing England, their strength has always been the fly and free legs. For the past several years, these roles have been filled by Matt Temple and Kyle Chalmers, and both return to the Commonwealth Games. Temple had a very strong Australian Trials, posting a time of 50.50 and coming within a quarter of a second of his personal best and Oceanian record of 50.25 from 2023. Chalmers was a little further away from his best, going 47.59 at Trials, but was just half a second off his best of 47.08 from both 2019 and 2021. He ranks 8th in the world this season, but his strength lies in his relay splits, as he posted a 46.53 anchor split for the Australians’ winning 4×100 free relay last summer.
Four years ago, Scotland set a new national record, taking bronze in 3:35.11, thanks in part to a strong 59.59 breaststroke split from Ross Murdoch. Unfortunately, Scotland won’t be able to call upon those talents, and it will be up to Joshua Mitchell and his seed time of 1:01.33 to help keep the Scots in it. The host nation will certainly be aided by the emergence of backstroker Matthew Ward, whose 53.59 at the 2026 Aquatics GB Championships ranks him 23rd in the world this season, and over a second faster than their lead-off from four years ago. Both their fly leg, Duncan Scott, and their freestyle leg, Evan Jones, return this year, but it may be wiser to slide Scott onto the anchor leg. Scotland’s two entries in the 100 free are both seeded at 49.50 or higher, and Scott owns a PB of 47.87 but split 47.23 last summer in Singapore. Jones, meanwhile, would be in strong contention for the fly leg, coming into the meet with a seed time of 52.49, but will have first to get the better of Dean Fearn, the reigning World Junior bronze medalist in the 100 fly, whose best sits at 52.33.
England Australia Scotland BK Morgan – 52.12 Allan – 53.45 Ward – 53.29 BR Ramsay-Peaty – 58.97 Williamson – 59.07 Mitchell – 1:01.33 FL Mildred – 51.02 Temple – 50.50 Fearn – 52.33 FR Mills – 47.72 Chamlers – 47.17 Scott – 49.11 (Mare Nostrum) 3:29.83 3:30.19 3:36.06Note: all times from entry list unless noted
On paper, it looks like another close race between England and Australia. The English certainly have a large lead on the backstroke leg, but it certainly makes it a lot closer on the fly and free legs. The times used are all from their entry times, so Chalmers’ 47.17 is from Worlds last year when he won the bronze, but Morgan’s time is also from last summer, so they somewhat equal out. The times are not reflective of relay starts, and Chalmers owns multiple sub-47 splits.
All of this may be moot as the South African and Canadian teams may play spoiler. Neither made the final four years ago as the Canadians were disqualified and the South Africans were no-shows. South Africa hasn’t fielded this relay at a large international meet in a few years. Still, the Canadians have been a staple on the world stage, finishing 5th at the Olympics, ahead of Australia, and they equaled that mark last summer in Singapore, setting a new national record of 3:29.75.
The Canadians will be without the services of their backstroker, Blake Tierney (53.03), and their butterflier, Ilya Kharun (49.83), which hurts their chances greatly, but Oliver Dawson‘s 59.99 flying start from last summer has greatly improved as he set a new PB of 59.33 this past May at the AP Race International. Josh Liendo also returns, but his services may be better suited on the fly leg, as Antoine Sauve is seeded .10 ahead of him with a 49.26. The Canadian’s weakness lies in their backstroke leg, with Benjamin Winterborn and his 55.34 seed time creating a gap that may be too large to close.
The South Africans, on the other hand, will have no difficulty getting out to a fast start. Predicted to lead them off is Pieter Coetze. The reigning World and Commonwealth Champion, the 22-year-old is entered into the individual 100 with his PB and Commonwealth record of 51.85 from last summer. His swim last summer tied him with the young South African as the 3rd-fastest performer of all time, and he certainly hasn’t rested on his laurels, posting a 52.40 this past April to sit 2nd in this season’s world rankings, just .01 off Xu Jiayu‘s top mark. Coetze will likely give his team the lead and will hand things over to Chris Smith. The Tuks Swimming Club-based athlete is much stronger in the 50 breast, having placed 6th in the final at Worlds last summer (he placed 25th in the 100 breast prelims), but has been making inroads into the event, setting a new PB of 1:00.36 at his nation’s championships in May. While it won’t be enough to keep up with the likes of Ramsay-Peaty or Williamson, it will be right in the mix with Dawson.
South Africa certainly has a strong butterfly leg, but it’s unknown yet who will get the nod. Joining Australia and Namibia as the only nations with three entries in the 100 fly, South Africa has the benefit of waiting to see who is the fastest among Jarden Eaton, Ruard van Renen and the ageless Chad le Clos. Le Clos, an 18-time Commonwealth Games medal winner, is seeded with the fastest time, coming in at 52.18, but it is a tenuous lead as van Renen, 11 years his junior, is back at 52.27 and Eaton, two years younger than van Renen, is entered with a 52.60.
Coetze leads his nation in the 100 free, entering with a 47.88, but with Guy Brooks a little over a second back at 49.04, it makes more sense to keep Coetze on the lead-off, then swapping him to anchor and using van Renen (entered with a 54.66 100 back) on the front.
Canada South Africa BK Winterborn – 55.34 Coetze – 51.85 BR Dawson – 59.33 Smith – 1:00.36 FL Liendo – 51.17 le Clos – 52.18 FR Sauve – 49.26 Brooks – 49.04 3:35.10 3:33.43Both Canada and South Africa have cumulative times ahead of Scotland, with the latter well clear of the defending bronze medalists. With the top five firmly set into two groups, Australia and England at the top and Canada and Scotland below them, with South Africa floating in the middle, it seems unlikely that anyone can challenge this upper echelon of teams.
Wales may disagree with that statement, as they finished 4th in 2022 in 3:36.43, putting them within striking distance of Scotland and potentially Canada. Matt Richards, 47.98 on anchor in Birmingham, has improved greatly over the past four years. He placed 8th in the individual final of the 100 free last summer, but dropped a 47.32 flying start in the 4×100 free relay. The British record holder with a PB of 47.45, the Welshman came within a breath of that time in April, posting 47.53 at the Aquatics GB Championships, and currently ranks 7th in the world this season, .06 ahead of Chalmers. However, Richards is just one leg of the team, and with Jack Knight’s 56.64 100 back seed and Josh Inglis’ 1:01.56 100 breast seed, the Welsh will likely be in too big of a hole for Richards and flyer Lewis Fraser (51.81) to dig themselves out of.
With Olympic and World Champion Jack McMillian on anchor, the team from Northern Ireland could find themselves in the final. Their breaststroker, Adam Bradley, is seeded faster than both the Scottish and Welsh representatives, and Matthew Hamilton‘s 53.63 fly seed is not to be overlooked. Their backstroke, Patrick Johnston, is seeded with a 55.48, so they could well be ahead of Wales at the halfway point.
Only seven teams contested the final four years ago, with Jersey, Fiji and Guernsey joining England, Australia, Scotland and Wales in the final. Jersey has an ace on the breaststroke leg with Filip Nowacki. He finished 2nd at the British trials in April, and is seeded with a 59.20, making him a strong contender for a medal in the individual 100 breaststroke. That said, Nowacki can’t carry his team to the final alone, and the Channel Islands may find themselves displaced in the final by another nation that didn’t compete in the event last year: Namibia.
With an aggregate time of 3:44.18, ahead of Jersey’s 3:44.83, the squad of Oliver Durand(?), Ronan Wantenaar (1:00.42), Jose Canjulo (54.84) and Luke Beukes (50.44) could put the African nation into the final. We have a question mark for Durand on the backstroke, as he does not have a 100 back time listed, as he is not swimming any backstroke events in Glasgow. That said, with only four male swimmers, Durand and his PB of 58.48 from his win at his Nationals back in February will have to make do.
SwimSwam’s Picks
The aggregate times point to England repeating as champions, but with a margin of less than half a second, we are giving the edge to Australia. If it’s that close on paper, with flat starts, Chalmers and his relay history could easily make up the gap. That said, it’s been a while since we’ve seen Ramsay-Peaty on a relay, so the World Record holder could peg the English to a lead too great for whatever herculean feat Chalmers might be capable of.
Place Nation Aggregate Time 2022 C.G. Finish 1 Australia 3:30.19 2nd 2 England 3:29.83 1st 3 South Africa 3:33.43 N/A 4 Canada 3:35.10 N/A 5 Scotland 3:36.06 3rd 6 Wales 3:37.54 4th 7 Northern Ireland 3:38.29 N/A 8 Namibia 3:44.18 N/ARead the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 Commonwealth Games Preview: Defying Chalmers, England Seeks to Mill Repeat Medley Relay Crown
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