2026 Commonwealth Games Previews: Perkins To Cap Her Rapid Rise With First International Titles ...Middle East

By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam

2026 Commonwealth Games

BY THE NUMBERS – WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY

The Leading Contenders

Only two swimmers return from the 2022 final, and neither of them top the season rankings this year. That honor falls to New Zealand’s Hazel Ouwehand, who clocked 25.55 at the New Zealand Championships to miss her national record of 25.43 by just over a tenth of a second.

She placed 14th in Birmingham in a time of 27.01, missing the final by over half a second. This year, she will have medal aspirations, although needs to overturn the form book if that is to happen. She has made a habit of adding time at major long course meets, and will need to be within a tenth or two of her season best to feel confident of standing on the podium.

Erin Gallagher was the joint-silver medalist in 2022, trying with Holly Barrett in 26.05, just 0.15 seconds behind Emma McKeon for gold. She has been half a second faster this season at 25.56, which is only just off the 25.39 South African record she posted in the semi-finals at the World Championships last summer. She ended up 8th in 25.66, but has only progressed since her silver medal four years ago. She may be the biggest threat to the favorite in this field.

That swimmer is Australia’s Alexandria Perkins, the reigning world silver medalist. She equalled Holly Barrett’s Oceanian record of 25.31 in Singapore, having been a whisker away earlier in 2025 with a 25.36 at Australian Trials.

She has been a little slower this year, but has still posted times of 25.62 and 25.60, mere hundredths slower than Gallagher and Ouwehand. With her track record over the last two years, which has included Oceanian records in the short course 50 fly, short course 100 fly, and long course 50 fly, she is the one to beat.

Eyeing Up The Podium

Both New Zealand and South Africa have a second swimmer who will be in the hunt for a spot in the final. Caitlin de Lange broke 26 seconds for the first time with a 25.98 at the South African Championships, which ranks her 5th among swimmers entered. She has only picked up the event recently, previously being almost exclusively a sprint freestyler, and could be the biggest threat from outside the top three to drop down into medal contention.

Zoe Pedersen is a couple of tenths slower at 26.18, but won gold at the World Junior Championships last season in a time of 25.63. She also swam at the senior world championships last summer, placing 24th in 26.39, and hasn’t broken 26 seconds at any meet other than this world junior championships. Her 50 free season best is yet to dip under her 50 fly lifetime best, so she may be a little off in Glasgow.

The British legion will be led by Eva Okaro, who was the only swimmer to crack 26 seconds at the Aquatics GB Championships. She lowered her previous best by a quarter of a second as she touched in 25.95, the fastest swim by a British woman in the 2020s.

Her only international appearances in the 50 fly have come in short course, placing 19th at the 2024 World Short Course Championships and 14th at the 2025 European Short Course Championships. As the fourth-fastest woman entered this season though she will be one to keep an eye on.

Keanna Macinees and Ciara Schlosshan are far more suited to the 100 and the 200, but have clocked 26-mid swims this season and could be in the mix for a spot in the final. Theodora Taylor is more sprint-oriented and set a new age group record of 26.46 in April, and may view this as a good event to ease her into the meet.

SwimSwam’s Picks

BY THE NUMBERS – WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY

A Surging Trio For The Podium

Alexandria Perkins has taken on the role vacated by Emma McKeon and stepped up to become Australia’s top sprint fly swimmer over the last year and a half. She won bronze in Singapore last summer, touching in 56.33 after posting a lifetime best of 56.19 in the semi-finals.

She was 4th at this meet in 2022, clocking 57.87 to miss the podium by four tenths of a second, but has been in fantastic form over the last 24 months. She won world short course bronze in an Oceanian record of 55.10 in December 2024, before clocking 56.42, 56.33, and 56.19 in long course in the summer. She lowered her short course best to 54.93, ranking in the top ten all-time, and has been 57.21 and 56.88 in long course so far this season, the only woman in the field under 57 seconds.

She has a half second lead in the season rankings, and her lifetime best leads the field by over a second. Perkins should be the runaway winner in this event, and will take a seriously impressive swim from anyone else to stop her.

Keanna Macinnes has been inching her way towards the British record of 57.25 over the last few years, dropping from 57.92 to 57.67 to 57.57 over the last 24 months. The latter, swim at the Aquatics GB championships in April, was a new Scottish record and moved her up to #5 in British history.

She made the semi-finals at the world championships last summer but has not made it through to the final at two international meets: the 2022 European Championships and 2023 European U23 Championships. She bowed out in the semi-finals at the last Commonwealth Games, clocking 59.56 in the heats and 59.57 in the final, but looked to have been targeting the European Championships later that summer. She was a semi-finalist at the 2024 Olympics and at the 2025 World championships, but is yet to win an international medal in the 100 fly.

Erin Gallagher was 9th in both the heats and the semi-finals at the last Commonwealth Games, but has been a consistent 57-point swimmer in recent seasons and made a world semi-final last summer. Her lifetime best is 57.32, which also stands as the African record, and she has been within a whisker so far this season.

She posted 57.36 at the South African championships, and comes in as the #2 swimmer based on both lifetime best and season best. She should come away from this event with her first Commonwealth medal in the event.

Podium Potential

Brittany Castelluzzo was second at Australian Trials in 57.88, just off her best of 57.80 from two years ago. She is more focused on the 200, but has enough speed to be a finalist here, and could cause some problems in the closing meters for some of the more sprint-oriented swimmers in this field.

Ciara Schlosshan and Hazel Ouwehand have matching season bests of 58.00, but while that is a lifetime best for the Scot it is just over half a second off her best for Ouwehand. She clocked 57.43 at the 2024 New Zealand Olympic Trials before finishing 18th in Paris in 58.07, but didn’t swim at the world championships last summer. She should be a finalist, but would need to be at her best to challenge for the podium and has not yet shown that sort of consistency.

Schlosshan made the final at the World University Games last summer, placing 4th in 58.74. She has dropped from 58.35 to 58.00 this season, and six of her seven fastest swims have come since February. If the podium ends up on the slower side she could be one to keep an eye on, especially with her 200 fly strength.

Lucy Grieve is the third Scot in the field and has a lifetime best of 58.09 from last April, but is half a second slower this season and added time at the European U23 Championships last summer. A 58-low seems the most likely outcome for her, but if she can add a touch more front-half speed her 30-mid pace on the second 50 could come in handy.

Emily Richards is England’s fastest entrant with a season’s best of 58.72, but this is very much a secondary event to the 200 for her. She seems likely to be right on the barrier of the top eight. Zoe Pedersen, by contrast, comes up to this event rather than down, but is yet to break the minute barrier.

SwimSwam’s Picks

BY THE NUMBERS – WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY

Dekkers Looking To Repeat

Elizabeth Dekkers is the reigning World Championships bronze medalist in the 200 fly, placing 3rd in 2:06.12, after initially missing the team with a third place finish at Australian Trials. Abbey Connor’s withdrawal opened up a spot for her and she took full advantage, winning her third international long course medal in the event in four years.

The first of those was at these Games in 2022, winning gold in 2:07.26, and she will be the favourite to defend her title. She clocked a new personal best of 2:04.95 at Australian Trials, her first swim under 2:05, and is exactly two seconds ahead of anyone else in the field this season.

She has been relatively consistent over the past few summers, and should be in at least the 2:05 range in Glasgow. With the other two members of the podium from the 2022 Games not returning it seems unlikely that she will have any real challengers.

Scottish record holder Keanna Macinnes is the fastest British swimmer so far this season and holds the third-fastest lifetime best of anyone in the field. She clocked 2:07.02 to win the Aquatics GB Championships in April, less than a tenth of a second off her lifetime best of 2:06.93 from last year. She didn’t have a great World Championships in this event, adding more than four seconds to go out in the semi-finals in 2:11.18, but has a great shot at a podium here. She has been right on her PB on three occasions this year – that 2:07.02, a 2:07.10 at the AP Race International, and a 2:07.04 at the Scottish National Championships in June.

Brittany Castelluzzo will be her main rival for silver, and leads Macinnes by a few hundredths in the season rankings. She missed her lifetime best at the Australian Trials by the exact same margin as Macinnes, posting 2:06.95 to near her best of 2:06.86 from last year.

She was 9th at the World Championships last year in 2:08.04, not adding quite as much time as Macinnes. With no semi-finals this year, both should be closer to top form, but home advantage may give the Scotswomen the slight edge.

The Rest

Emily Richards was a world junior champion in the 200 fly in 2017, but hadn’t managed to make the step up to senior level until 2023. She clocked 2:07.74 for the win at those World Junior Championships, a mark that she didn’t beat until the 2023 British Championships where she posted a swim of 2:07.33.

She has neared that mark twice since, finishing 7th in the final at last year’s world championships in 2:07.99, having been 2:07.71 in the semi-finals, and taking silver at the 2026 Aquatics GB Championships in 2:07.70. A medal would probably require a new lifetime best, but she is trending in the right direction.

Jess Cole will be the third Australian in the field, and after setting a new best of 2:08.81 at the Australian Trials will probably be towards the back in the final. This should be a great first experience of international racing for her, but she is still just 19 and has two swims under 2:10.

Lucy Fox is another on the younger side who should be in the mix for the final. She was not initially named to England’s team, but has a best of 2:08.90 and has dropped over two seconds already this year.

The field behind the top contenders figures, like four years ago, to be thin. Ella Jansen has a season best of 2:10.03 and a lifetime best of 2:09.68, but no one else has been under 2:10. Lucy Grieve has been 2:11.74, but is much more suited to the 100.

SwimSwam’s Picks

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