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Glasgow: World record holder Cam McAvoy stunned his rivals with a brilliant start and showed why he is swimming’s greatest sprinter but said he can’t rest on his laurels if he wants to defend his 50m freestyle crown at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
With an incredible 0.55 second reaction time, 36 kicks and no rest, McAvoy became the first man in history to break 21 seconds twice in the 50m freestyle, clocking the fourth fastest time in history (20.97) – just 0.09 seconds off the world record he set in March.
Australia go 1-2-3 in the men’s 50m freestyle with Cam McAvoy winning gold, Flynn Southam silver and Jamie Jack bronze.Getty Images
It was a full-circle moment for the 32-year-old, who four years ago hadn’t even swum, as he won his first Commonwealth Games gold medal in the individual event and was more than a second off the time he swam at those Games 12 years ago in Glasgow.
With the Olympic, World and Pan-Pacific gold already secured, there is little left for McAvoy to achieve but he is determined to join Gary Hall Jr and Alexander Popov in defending the Olympic 50m freestyle title following his remarkable triumph in Paris 2024.
Australia added a further five swimming gold medals on the third night in Glasgow, with Tim Hodge (100m freestyle S9), Jonah Anderson (100m backstroke) and Lani Pallister (1500m freestyle) winning individual titles before Kai Taylor, son of Hayley Lewis, anchored the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay with a superb final result. 1:44.10 and held off a stubborn England team.
The unfortunate story of the evening was that Australia’s Matt Temple missed out on gold in the 100m butterfly by 0.01 seconds.
But the sight of McAvoy on the platform alongside Flynn Southam (21.44) and Jamie Jack (21.47) highlighted Australia’s sprint revolution. Southam shaved 0.28 seconds off his personal best, while Jack also set the fastest time, improving by 0.05 seconds.
To put their times into context, Southam and Jack would have finished third and fourth at the Paris Olympics. This is even more impressive when you consider that McAvoy was the first Australian man to win a medal in a single-lap event in 36 years of racing.
There is an irony in the fact that McAvoy himself is partly responsible for the progress of his compatriots, given that he is an open book when it comes to his training methods.
Many swimmers and coaches are fiercely protective of the secrets to their success, but McAvoy is thrilled to spread his message that less is more in the training pool. After his latest victory, McAvoy said he would go home and share his analysis with the community of swimmers who are passionate about his methods.
Cam McAvoy celebrates his gold in the 50m freestyle.Getty Images
If the Olympics were held today, McAvoy would start as favorite – Russian Egor Kornev is the next biggest threat after calling a time of 21.06 last month – but he knows complacency could cost him the chance to defend his title in front of 50,000 fans at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
He will compete in the short course world championships later this year and the long course world championships in Budapest next year before embarking on a fifth Olympic campaign.
“I can’t go to Los Angeles. I’ll still have to be locked up all the time,” McAvoy said. “Today’s time is not something you can pull out of your pocket any day of the week.
Cam McAvoy’s fastest 50m freestyle time
- 20.88 – China Open, March 2026 (world record)
- 20.97 – Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
- 21.06 – World Championships 2023 in Fukuoka
- 21.13 – World Championship 2024 in Doha.
- 21.14 – World Championship 2025 in Singapore.
- 21.23 – World Championship 2024 in Doha.
- 21.25 – Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
“I’m very happy with the gold, but Los Angeles is still the priority. I want to defend my title. There are some low-hanging fruits that I can still work on and maybe move things along a little more. The world is catching up with me too.
“I think there will be an unprecedented number of people in Los Angeles with this very, very low 21. Perhaps some of them will reach that high 20th ceiling.”
Meanwhile, Pallister followed up her 400m freestyle gold by winning the 1500m freestyle in 15:41.03, just shy of her personal best of 15:39.14. Her quest for a triple individual gold medal continues with the 800m freestyle on Monday.
“The Australian media has been talking about it a lot and I’m usually quite chatty and sit in the room with the girls. I feel like I’ve been pretty low-key this week,” Pallister said.
Lani Pallister with her gold medal in the women’s 1500m freestyle.Getty Images
“I’ve had a lot of my best performances this week… I’m actually fine. I think when you get to that top level, it’s going to be hard to keep a personal best at every meet and every race.”
Another key participant in Australia’s gold rush in the pool was Anderson, who won gold in the women’s 100m backstroke – a seismic achievement given the 20-year-old’s previous history with back problems.
After her victory, she headed to her grandmother Pam, who lives in Grangemouth, Scotland.
“She was very emotional. There weren’t many words,” Anderson said.
Jonah Anderson celebrates winning the 100m backstroke at the Commonwealth Games final in Glasgow.Getty Images
The 20-year-old was born in Australia but has Scottish roots. It is named after a tiny island off the southwest coast of Mull, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. In fact, it is so tiny that it has fewer than 170 residents.
One reporter asked Anderson how special the Scottish win was for him, suggesting it may have been only his second after Victoria.
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“Well, personally I think Glasgow is better than Victoria,” Anderson said with a shy smile.
“I love Scotland. I have quite a lot of friends here and of course my family. So it’s great to come back here and do this.”
Susie O’Neill, Ian Thorpe and Emma McKeon can also breathe a sigh of relief now.
Molly O’Callaghan’s bid to become the most decorated swimmer at the Commonwealth Games is over after the Australian star confirmed she had withdrawn from the 50m backstroke on Monday.
O’Callaghan already has two gold medals in the women’s 200m freestyle and the 4x100m freestyle relay.
O’Neill (1998), Thorpe (2002) and McKeon (2022) have each won six gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games – Kuala Lumpur, Manchester and Birmingham respectively – but no swimmer, Australian or otherwise, has ever won more than six gold medals at a single Games.
O’Callaghan could still win four gold medals in Glasgow: the 100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay, women’s 4x100m medley relay and 4x100m medley relay, but that would depend on her being selected to compete in both medley relays.
O’Callaghan’s maximum tally is now six gold medals instead of seven.
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Tom Desent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or e-mail.
Hannah Kennelly is an award-winning sports reporter and writer on Formula One for The Age.Connect via email.