2026 Commonwealth Games: Day 3 Prelims Preview

2026 Commonwealth Games

Top Seeds

• Women’s 100 freestyle – Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS), 1:52.86
• Men’s 50 breaststroke – Sam Williamson (AUS), 26.61
• Women’s 1500 freestyle (early heats) – Kyra Rabess (CAY), 17:05.02
• Men’s 200 backstroke – Pieter Coetze (RSA), 1:53.36
• Women’s 100 butterfly – Alexandria Perkins (AUS), 56.19
• Men’s S9 100 backstroke – Timothy Hodge (AUS), 1:03.20
• Women’s S9 100 backstroke – Alice Tai (ENG), 1:10.55
• Men’s 4×200 freestyle relay – Australia, 7:00.98

After but extra fireworks final night time, we transfer onto the third day on the 2026 Commonwealth Games with eight occasions happening this morning.

Having had the ladies’s 400 free and 200 free on days 1 and a pair of, we now have the ladies’s 100 free to sit up for with the Australian trio of Mollie O’Callaghan, Meg Harris, and Shayna Jack. Jack and Harris swam on the combined 4×100 free relay final night time, however O’Callaghan joined them on the ladies’s 4×100 free relay on the primary day as all three swam between 53.07 and 52.64.

O’Callaghan would have been the favourite after swimming a season greatest 52.33 at Australian Trials, however she was a few seconds slower within the 200 final night time than she was in the beginning of June and is affected by a again harm which appears to be affecting her extra right here than it was at these Trials final month.

Jack may even see this as an opportunity to win a Commonwealth title in her last meet earlier than retirement, however all three ought to comfortably progress this morning. Jack and Harris break up 52.42 and 52.03, respectively, on the combined 4×100 free relay final night time as Australia gained in a Games file of three:19.36.

Eva Okaro and Evelyn Davis went 1-2 on the Aquatics GB Championships in April and are the #4 and #5 seeds right here. Davis received the higher of Okaro on the leadoff leg of the ladies’s 4×100 free relay on night time 1, the Scot clocking 54.32 to her English counterpart’s 54.50.

Theodora Taylor set a Welsh file of 54.14 on that very same leadoff leg, second-fastest within the discipline, and is the #7 seed this morning. She additionally break up a scorching 52.63 on the combined 4×100 free relay final night time, so figures to be even quicker at present.

Aimee Canny will probably be one to maintain a watch out for, entered in 56.08 and in lane 1 of the primary circle-seeded warmth, however proudly owning a season better of 54.27 and having posted a 54.46 leadoff on the relay two days in the past.

The males’s 50 breast appears like one of many races of the meet, with the highest 4 swimmers separated by simply 0.03 seconds. Sam Williamson leads the best way together with his 26.61 from Australian Trials, simply forward of South African pair Michael Houlie (26.63) and Chris Smith (26.64), and world file holder Adam Peaty (26.64).

Houlie has already damaged the Games file on this occasion, blasting out to a 26.38 on his opening 50 within the semi-finals of the 100 breast on the primary day of competitors. He was barely slower final night time, touching in 26.57 as he positioned seventh in 1:00.35.

Williamson might have the sting over his opponents after successful the 100 breast final night time in 59.17 forward of Peaty and Filip Nowacki, who’s the #6 seed in 27.10. Ronan Wantenaar of Namibia, who swam his lifetime better of 26.85 on the World Championships final summer time and solely simply missed making the ultimate, did miss the semi-finals within the 100 breast, however the 50 is his favored distance.

Pieter Coetze and Ollie Morgan will do battle once more within the 200 again after going 1-2 within the 50 again final night time. They are the highest two seeds in 1:53.36 and 1:55.85, with 2021 Olympic bronze medalist Luke Greenbank rating third in 1:56.01.

Henry Allan of Australia, Matt Ward of Scotland, and Jack Skerry of England may also hope to swim of their second backstroke last in two days. Se-Bom Lee has his first swim of the meet after setting a brand new lifetime better of 1:56.75 at Australian Trials final month.

All three medalists from the 50 fly return to the ladies’s 100 fly, with Alex Perkins the highest seed by greater than a second. Scotland’s Keanna MacInnes will probably be in motion for the primary time this week because the #3 seed after setting a brand new Scottish file of 57.57 on the Aquatics GB Championships in April.

Bronze medalist Hazel Ouwehand can be within the discipline, as is Perkins’ teammate Brittany Castelluzzo. Ciara Schlosshan will swim subsequent to her teammate Macinnes within the first of the circle-seeded heats, which needs to be one of many loudest of the morning.

We even have the primary warmth within the girls’s 1500 free on this session, with the second warmth held on this night’s finals session. Kyra Rabess of the Cayman Islands is the quickest swimmer this morning in 17:05.02, 4 seconds forward of Singapore’s En Xi Sarah Sim.

Timothy Hodge and Barry McClements prepared the ground within the males’s S9 100 again. McClements gained bronze 4 years in the past, whereas Hodge gained gold in a Games file of 1:01.88.

The girls’s occasion this yr strikes up a class from S8 to S9, however 2022 champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Alice Tai remains to be the highest seed regardless of that transfer. Toni Shaw, who gained bronze in Birmingham, will swim in lane six within the first warmth.

The males’s 4×200 free is the ultimate occasion of the morning, led by prime seed Australia. England and Canada are entered on both facet within the last warmth, though Canada’s participation will probably be in query after they left empty lanes in two of the three relays swum to date. They don’t seem to have 4 200 freestylers on their crew, so they’d not be a stunning absence.

Scotland and Wales will do battle within the first warmth, with the end result seemingly to offer one crew an edge as they search a medal in tonight’s last.