2026 Commonwealth Games Previews: A Diverse Field Should Be Intriguing In Men’s Breaststroke ...Middle East

By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam

2026 Commonwealth Games

BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE

The men’s 50 breast is one of the more stacked events of this meet, with five swimmers entered who have been 26.85 or better in the last 12 months. The three-time reigning champion Adam Peaty will be looking for his first major title since the 2021 Olympic Games, but a trio of African swimmers and one resurgent Australian have designs on stopping that.

The Sub-27 Club

Michael Houlie, Chris Smith, and Ronan Wantenaar are all gunning for their first individual Commonwealth medal, and Peaty will also have some domestic competition from 18-year-olds Max Morgan and Filip Nowacki. The latter will be competing for Jersey, who have never won a Commonwealth medal in swimming.

Peaty took the 2024/2025 season off after winning Olympic silver in 2024, but looked strong at the Aquatics GB Championships with a 26.64. His world record stands at 25.95, but that was set nearly a decade ago now and he does not have the same explosive power that he did in his peak.

His starts have improved, but he will still have water to make up on his competitors in this event once he surfaces after the breakout. A finger injury picked up at the Sette Colli does nothing to help his chances either, although he is the defending champion, clocking 26.76 to take gold four years ago.

Michael Houlie has flattered to deceive at major meets, both internationally and in the NCAA, winning a World University Games silver in 2019 but not making a major final since. He set a new PB of 26.63 at the South African Championships, which makes him the #2 seed ahead of Peaty.

Chris Smith, also of South Africa, has more recent international experience than his elder colleague. He made the final at the short course world championships in 2024, placing 7th, and set a world junior record of 25.75 in the semi-finals. That set him up nicely for the long course edition last summer, where he also made the final. He is another who has set their PB this season, clocking 26.64 in December. For a swimmer who seems to swim his best when the lights shine brightest, that looks an excellent sign heading into this meet.

Wantenaar is the Namibian record holder in the event, who became their first ever world semi-finalist at the 2024 World short course Championships and then nearly made the final at the long course version in Singapore last summer. He clocked 26.85 in the heats, his first swim under 27 seconds, before posting a 26.94 that was just 0.01 seconds away from 8th in the semi-finals.

Wantenaar has already swum times of 27.22 and 27.24 at the French Elite Championships this season, and is one of two swimmers in this field hoping to win their nations maiden swimming medal.

The four swimmers above will all have the podium in their sights, but the slight favorite is a man from down under. Sam Williamson missed the 2025 World Championships with a patella injury, but is the fourth-fastest swimmer in history thanks to a gold medal-garnering 26.32 at the 2024 World Championships.

He won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but has come on in leaps and bounds in the four years since. He looks almost back in peak form, clocking 26.61 at the Australian Trials in June, which makes him the joint top seed in this event. No swimmer in this field has been faster than him over the last five years, and the only Commonwealth swimmer in the 2020s who has been faster than his season best of 26.61 was Adam Peaty at the 2021 European Championships.

Eyeing Up The Final

Max Morgan plateaued a little in his age-17 season, but looked superb at the Aquatics GB championships. He will have the junior world record of 26.95 in his sights, and has three swims in the 27.2 range already this season. He swam this event at the world championships last summer, and should be a lock for the final here. A podium is probably just out of reach given the swimmers ahead of him, but he will not be far away.

Filip Nowacki was absolutely phenomenal last summer, and has continued that form this season. He set a new PB of 27.12 to take silver at the Aquatics GB Championships, lowering the 27.18 he swam last summer for 4th at the World Junior Championships, but is more suited to the longer events. A surefire finalist, he doesn’t quite have the top-end speed of those ahead of him.

Archie Goodburn is the Scottish record holder with a lifetime best of 27.12, and will be a good bet for the final at a home Games. He set that time this February, and has been 27.46 or better on six occasions this season. Goodburn has been battling a brain tumour for the last two years, and his continued high-level performances are all the more impressive for that. He will get a rousing reception regardless of his finishing position.

Oliver Dawson is more suited to the longer distances, but a 27.29 makes him a finals threat in the 50 as well. That was set this season, and it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to drop down towards the 27 second barrier and lower his Canadian record even further.

Kyle Booth set a Welsh record of 27.66 in April, having taken a couple of years away from the sport. Having been a 1:01/2:12 swimmer before his break, he is now more of a 50 specialist. The final may be a step too far for him however.

SwimSwam’s Picks

BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE

The race here is not as open as the five-horse race for the 50 breast. There are three real contenders to top the podium here: Adam Peaty, Sam Williamson, and Filip Nowacki.

The Podium

Peaty needs no real introduction in the event, owning the world record in a time of 56.88 and dominating at hitherto unseen levels from 2016 to 2021. However, he has not won a major meet since the 2021 Olympics, placing 4th at 2022 Commonwealths, 3rd at 2024 Worlds, and 2nd at the 2024 Olympics.

His season best time is 58.97, more than two seconds off his PB and only a tenth ahead of Sam Williamson’s 59.07. Just like in the 50, he doesn’t have quite the same explosive power as before which previously saw him streak away on the back half of this race.

However, he is just two years removed from clocking 57.92, a mark only two other men have ever been faster than, and is back in the pool where it all began for him. Glasgow’s Tollcross was the venue for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, his first senior international meet and the scene of a pair of startling victories for a 19-year-old virtuoso over one of the world’s best breaststrokers in Cameron van der Burgh.

Will this be a major target for him? Commonwealths generally mean a bit more than Europeans for British swimmers, and he is at an age where he may struggle to peak at two competitions in a single summer. The 100 is his best shot at a medal, the event which he will be known for, and the only event in which he is the top seed. It could even be his final international title.

One caveat though. Peaty suffered a finger injury at the Sette Colli at the end of June, and is now at the age where both recovery is not quick, and smaller injuries can prove destabilising. A healthy Peaty is probably just about the favorite. With a slightly uncertain bill of health, he may be just a medalist.

Sam Williamson could again stand in his way, having clocked 59.11 and 59.07 at Australian Trials. Those are his fastest swims since going 58.80 at the 2024 Olympic Trials, although he did go on to add badly that summer to miss the semi-finals entirely. He was the Commonwealth bronze medalist four years ago though, and his front end speed is probably the best in this field.

He is yet to back up his 2024 World Championships performance, where he placed 4th in the final in 59.21 after a 59.35 in the semi-final. He did miss last year’s championships with injury though, and has the best blend of speed, high-end talent, and form of anyone in this field. He only has two sub-1:00 swims so far this season, but they came last month and Peaty’s injury cracks the door a little more for him. If he goes out 27-flat, Peaty may struggle to live with him and Filip Nowacki may have too much to do on the second 50.

Nowacki is a real contender, owning a best of 59.20 and having been 59.39 already this season. He will be the swimmer to watch in the second half of the race, splitting 31-low on the back 50 last summer. The Aquatics GB Championships seemed to be a controlled meet for him, rather than a target meet, and he was still less than two tenths of a second off his best in this event.

Nowacki has eight swims under the minute barrier, three this year and five in 2025, and should add another three in Glasgow. He stepped up in the big moments last summer, swimming his fastest times of the meet in the final at both European Juniors and World Juniors, and should be expected to do so again. Becoming just the third British man to break 59 seconds looks a real possibility, and with Adam Peaty’s injury at the Sette Colli he may be the top-finishing Brit. If he can make the most of his developing 50 speed he could end up on top of the podium, but he will have to ensure the middle lanes don’t leave him behind on the first 50, especially with his relatively slight frame.

Medal Contenders On Their Day

Max Morgan was 3rd at the Aquatics GB Championships behind Peaty and Nowacki, but lowered his best to 59.56 and underlined his step up from the junior ranks to the seniors. He won world junior bronze in 59.96 last summer, and won European junior bronze earlier this month in 1:00.41.

That is a better sign than it seems at first glance. European Juniors does not look to have been a taper meet for him, and with two more weeks before Commonwealths he should be at full throttle in Glasgow. This is his final meet of the summer, as he missed the team for Europeans. He is probably a slight step below the trio of Peaty, Williamson, and Nowacki, but could certainly make the jump.

Oliver Dawson has been on fire this season for Canada, and hacked nearly a second off his best at the AP Race meet in April, clocking 59.33. That set a new Canadian record, and gives him the third-fastest season best of any swimmer entered. Like Nowacki, he is strongest on the back half of the race, but also has 27.2 speed in the 50.

Dawson may in the same boat as Morgan, most likely slightly behind the trio of Nowacki, Peaty, and Williamson. He looked solid at Canadian Trials earlier this month with a 59.97, and should be in the 59-mid range at the worst.

The Rest

Ronan Wantenaar, Chris Smith, and Michael Houlie are all more suited to the 50, but should be around the 1:00 mark and good bets to make the final. None of them made it through to the semi-finals at Worlds last year, but Houlie has a PB of 59.64 from 2019 and Smith clocked 1:00.36 to win South African Nationals. Wantenaar’s best of 1:00.53 came from the Giant Open last May, but he has been slightly slower so far this season. Like with Morgan, that could be a good sign for his taper. SMith is perhap sthe most intriguing given his trajectory, and has dropped from 1:00.85 to 1:00.36 this season.

Adam Bradley will be the Northern Irish hope after setting a PB of 1:01.10 earlier this year. He had not broken 1:02 prior to this season, but now has four 1:01-point swims. His best times last season did come in the spring though, as he added over a second at the Aquatics GB Next Gen Championships in July.

SwimSwam’s Picks

BY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE

Filip The Favorite?

Filip Nowacki looks the favorite in the 200 breast, coming off a fantastic summer of 2025 when he broke the European junior record, British junior record, and won gold at both the European Junior Championships and World Junior Championships.

He clocked 2:08.32 at the former, a huge lifetime best at that point having not broken 2:11 until the championships, and sliced exactly a second off as he beat out Japanese junior phenom Shin Ohashi for the World Junior title in 2:07.32. He hasn’t been quite as fast so far in the lead-up to this meet, but still comes in as the fastest man this season.

He clocked 2:08 at the Aquatics GB Championships, beating out Greg Butler by just over a second, and this is his best chance to win Jersey’s first ever Commonwealth gold in swimming. Anyone who watched him last summer will be aware of his ability to win tight races, and his season so far has been incredibly mature for someone just 18 years old.

In this field, he has the best closing kick and has enough speed to not get left behind in the first 100. It would be an upset if he did not finish on top of the podium.

Zac Stubblety-Cook is the reigning Commonwealth champion, but missed the 2025 World Championships through injury and has not looked anywhere near his peak since the Paris Olympics. He was the world’s dominant swimmer in this event in 2021 and 2022, but was the bridesmaid in 2023 and 2024, albeit behind the #1 and #2 swims in history.

Since then, his fastest swim is the 2:08.92 he clocked at Australian Trials this year, a far cry from the 2:06-or-better swims he threw down for four years in a row from 2021 to 2024. While his front end speed has never been a strength, he no longer quite has the closing kick of his prime, and closed in 1:06.19 in that Aussie Trials swim.

He may even be in danger from England’s Greg Butler, who placed 5th in the event four years ago but is now a world semi-finalist and a 2:09 swimmer. He was 2:09.60 for 9th last summer, and shaved a tenth off to swim 2:09.51 at the Aquatics GB Championships in April. He won medley relay gold as a relay swimmer four years ago, but could be a decent bet for a medal this time around.

The more likely man to challenge Stubblety-Cook however is Canadian 18-year-old Oliver Dawson. He has a best of 2:08.93 from the AP Race meet in May, when he very nearly ran down Nowacki on the final 50.

That gave him his third Canadian record in 48 hours, and he has experience after placing 10th at the World Championships last summer in 2:10.32. He probably has the edge on Butler for bronze, and Stubblety-Cook will have to ensure he doesn’t let Dawson get away down the first 100 meters lest the Canadian hold him off for silver.

The Rest

There isn’t a ton of depth behind this quartet – three of the top four from the 2022 edition will not be present this year – but host nation Scotland have a pair of likely finalists. George Smith (Stirling) and Josh Mitchell (Edinburgh) swim for rival universities, but will be teammates here and should be in the top eight.

Smith has a best of 2:10.76 from last summer and was 2:12.69 at Scottish Nationals in June, while Mitchell set a huge best of 2:13.60 at the Aquatics GB Championships in April.

Jacob Story, an 18-year-old who represents the Cook Islands, notched a national record of 2:14.41 at the Australian Age Group Championships earlier this year, and could become their first ever finalist in swimming. It took 2:15.91 to make the top eight four years ago, and the field doesn’t look quite as deep this year, so he is in with a decent shout to make history.

SwimSwam’s Picks

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