GLASGOW BECKONS FOR QAS-SUPPORTED SWIMMERS

Thirty-two Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) supported athletes have earned selection on Australia’s Dolphins team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, underlining the QAS’s role in supporting athletes on their journey to international success.

Combined with four additional Queensland athletes, the state’s 36 representatives will form the backbone of Australia’s swimming campaign from 24 to 29 July, showcasing the strength of Queensland’s high performance system from emerging talent through to Olympic and Paralympic champions.

The Queensland contingent includes Olympic and Paralympic medallists, Commonwealth Games champions, world champions and 14 Commonwealth Games debutants, reflecting the depth of talent across the state’s swimming and Para swimming programs.

Among the QAS-supported athletes selected are Cameron McEvoy OLY and Lakeisha Patterson OAM, who return to Glasgow 12 years after making their senior Australian debuts at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. More than a decade later, the pair are among Australia’s most experienced Dolphins and continue to set the benchmark for longevity and excellence on the world stage.

For McEvoy, Glasgow represents unfinished business. The reigning Olympic champion and world record-holder heads to Scotland in confident form after recording a training personal best over the weekend during Australia’s pre-Games camp in Germany.

“Today was my last session where I’ve done something that was longer on the speed side… it was a training PB, which is always what you want. I’m moving well.”

The 50m freestyle star will be chasing the individual Commonwealth Games gold medal that has so far eluded him.

For Patterson, Glasgow is a full-circle moment. The reigning world champion returns for her fourth Commonwealth Games with a vastly different perspective to the teenager who claimed bronze on debut in Scotland in 2014.

“Looking back, one lesson stands above all others. Rest isn’t a reward, it’s a requirement.”

Patterson said the evolution of Para swimming within the Australian team over the past decade had been one of the sport’s biggest success stories.

“Back then there were only four Para swimming girls on the team. Now having 18 swimmers integrated within a team of 60 Dolphins is really exciting because of the way our sport has progressed.”

The next generation is equally well represented, with 13 Queensland athletes preparing for their first Commonwealth Games. Ben Armbruster, Hannah Casey, Isaac Cooper, Hannah Fredericks, Benjamin Goedemans, Jamie Jack, Tiana Kritzinger, Bailey Lello, Edward Sommerville, Kai Taylor, Harrison Turner, Amelia Weber and Victoria Belando Nicholson will all make their Commonwealth Games debut.

The Games will also deliver a memorable family milestone, with Queensland athlete Shayna Jack selected alongside her brother Jamie Jack, who earns his first Commonwealth Games selection.

Beyond the athlete selections, eight QAS performance support staff have also been appointed to support the Australian Dolphins throughout the pre-Games staging camp and competition in Glasgow. Their selection reflects the QAS’s position as one of Australia’s largest employers of high performance support practitioners and its significant contribution to Australia’s high performance system.

Australian Team Chef de Mission Petria Thomas OAM OLY said the Australian Dolphins team had earned its place on the Commonwealth Games stage.

“I would like to congratulate every swimmer selected, along with their coaches, families and friends, and the clubs and communities that have supported them on their journey to this moment.

“The Australian Dolphins at Glasgow 2026 will feature a powerful mix of established performers and emerging talent, all eager to leave their mark.”

Swimming competition will take place at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre from 24 to 29 July, where athletes will look to continue the state’s proud tradition of Commonwealth Games success.