By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam
2026 Commonwealth Games
July 24 – 29, 2026 (pool swimming) Glasgow, Scotland Tollcross International Swimming Centre LCM (50m) Meet Central Entries Preview Index How to Watch Live Results Live Recaps Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6The majority of the Australian swimmers at the Commonwealth Games last week walked away with a boost to their bank balances, with nearly A$1,272,500 million (USD$892,850) handed out as part of a direct sponsorship scheme from Gina Rinehart.
Mrs Rinehart is the executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting and is the richest person in Australia, worth an estimated A$38 billion. She has been a longtime supporter of swimming within Australia at the elite level.
Prize Money On Offer
Medal Individual Events Relays (Finals Swimmers, Per Swimmer) Relays (Heat-Only Swimmers, Per Swimmer) Gold A$20,000 A$5,000 A$2,500 Silver A$15,000 A$3,750 A$1,875 Bronze A$10,000 A$2,500 A$1,250 World Record A$30,000 A$7,500 –There is one caveat to the table above – tied medalists won the full amount, not a split amount. This is only relevant to the men’s 50 fly, where the Aussies did not go 1-2-3 but rather 1-1-3 with Kyle Chalmers and Ben Armbruster tying for gold in a new Commonwealth Games record in 22.73.
That was not the only tie to come out of that swim. They both matched the previous Australian and Oceanian record of 22.73 that Matt Targett put on the books at the 2009 World Championships, making it now a three-way tie for the record.
The total amount of prize money won by the Australian swimmers at these Commonwealth Games was A$1,292,500. They won 37 gold medals, eight of them on relays, 16 silver medals, and 23 bronze medals. With 126 medals available in total across the meet, a staggering 76, or 60.3%, went to the Green and Gold.
That was a new record for the team, exceeding the mark of 73 medals won at the 2018 and 2022 Games. There were two additional events on offer this year, the men’s 800m freestyle and the women’s 1500m freestyle, in which Australia won a total of five medals.
Lani Pallister topped the money table thanks to her sweep in the women’s distance free events, as well as silver in the 200 free and a swim in the 4×200 free relay. Jenna Forrester and Sam Short also won three individual golds, while Meg Harris won six in total, albeit only two individually, as she came away with A$60,000.
In total, 48 of the 58 swimmers competing won prize money.
Prize Money Awarded
Swimmer Prize Money (AUD) Gold Silver Bronze Relay (Finals) Relay (Heats) Lani Pallister A$80,000 3 1 1 Jenna Forrester A$70,000 3 1 Alexandria Perkins A$67,500 2 1 2 1 Sam Short A$65,000 3 1 Meg Harris A$60,000 2 4 Flynn Southam A$50,000 1 1 3 Sam Williamson A$50,000 2 2 Sienna Toohey A$50,000 1 1 1 1 Mollie O’Callaghan A$47,500 1 1 2 1 Iona Anderson A$45,000 1 1 2 Kyle Chalmers A$40,000 1 1 2 Matt Temple A$37,500 1 1 2 1 Ben Goedemans A$35,000 1 2 Ben Armbruster A$32,500 1 1 1 Kai Taylor A$32,500 1 2 1 Harrison Turner A$30,000 1 2 2 Kirralee Hayes A$30,000 1 1 Timothy Hodge A$30,000 1 1 Shayna Jack A$30,000 2 2 Jenna Jones A$30,000 1 1 Cam McEvoy A$30,000 1 1 Brittany Castelluzzo A$27,500 1 3 Beau Matthews A$20,000 1 Lakeisha Patterson A$20,000 1 William Petric A$20,000 1 2 Alex Saffy A$20,000 1 Molly Walker A$20,000 2 Elijah Winnington A$17,500 1 1 Jamie Jack A$15,000 1 2 Emily Beecroft A$15,000 1 Hannah Fredericks A$15,000 1 2 Jasmine Greenwood A$15,000 1 Jack Ireland A$15,000 1 Col Pearse A$15,000 1 Gemma Sellick A$15,000 1 Zac Stubblety-Cook A$12,500 1 1 Victoria Belando-Nicholson A$10,000 1 Hannah Casey A$10,000 1 2 Lizzy Dekkers A$10,000 1 Matt Galea A$10,000 1 Ella Ramsay A$10,000 1 Harrison Vig A$10,000 1 Inez Miller A$7,500 1 1 Ed Sommerville A$7,500 1 1 Henry Allan A$5,000 1 Jess Cole A$2,500 1 Isaac Cooper A$2,500 1 Brendon Smith A$2,500 1 Bailey Lello A$0 Jasmin Fullgrabe A$0 Alyssa Gillespie A$0 Mia Hogan A$0 Tara Kinder A$0 Tiana Kritzinger A$0 Se-Bom Lee A$0 Madeleine McTernan A$0 Liam Togher A$0 Amelia Weber A$0 30 (29 distinct events) 16 23 TOTAL A$1,292,500 A$600,000 A$240,000 A$230,000 A$160,000 A$125,000
During the Games, swimmers were not able to bring up the prize money specifics during interviews due to contractual agreements between the athletes and Commonwealth Games Australia, which provides exclusive sponsorship rights to sponsors of Commonwealth Games Australia through the duration of the Games.
This was not a new clause, nor one specific to either swimming or Mrs Rinehart. Commonwealth Games Australia includes a clause in each contract that each athlete signs before they join the Commonwealth Games team which does not allow athletes’ personal sponsors to use them for advertisement during the duration of the Games.
It is understood that the prize money on offer from Mrs Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting constituted individual sponsorship, which fell under this existing clause, which has been used for previous Games as well.
Mrs Rinehart was awarded an Order of Merit by the Australian Olympic Committee in 2014 for her patronship of swimming, artistic swimming, and rowing which has now extended nearly 30 years.
The prize money was only available for the Commonwealth Games, not the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine later this summer. Several top Australian swimmers, including Kyle Chalmers, Flynn Southam, Cam McEvoy, and Henry Allan, are only competing at the former this summer, with the cash bonuses on offer playing a part in this decision.
Multiple top Australian swimmers also receive a yearly stipend as part of Mrs Rinehart’s patronage. Kaylee McKeown, as one example, has received funding since the age of 16.
Mrs Rinehart is a patron to several sporting organisations, most notably Swimming QLD (Queensland), Rowing Australia, Artistic Swimming Australia, and the Australian Dolphins Swim Team.
“There is something very uplifting about seeing an Australian athlete stand on the podium while our flag is raised. Such exciting times make Australians proud and deserve to be celebrated”
Gina Rinehart
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