Cam McEvoy finally has his individual Commonwealth Games gold medal. The Australian sprinter won the men's 50m freestyle final at the Glasgow 2026 Games on Sunday 26 July, clocking 20.97 seconds — the only swimmer in the field to break 21 seconds The Guardian.

His three previous Commonwealth golds all came in relays. This one was his alone. McEvoy, who set the 50m freestyle world record in March 2026, finished 0.47 seconds clear of teammate Flynn Southam (21.44), with Jamie Jack third in 21.47. Australia swept the podium.

Not that it was the only statement Australia made at the Tollcross pool on day three. They claimed five gold medals across the session and have now collected 16 in the first three days of swimming, topping the overall Games medal standings The Guardian.

Lani Pallister won the women's 1500m freestyle by nearly 18 seconds, capping a remarkable Games that also included gold in the 400m and 800m freestyle — a distance treble The Guardian. Her 400m freestyle title on day one, won in 3:59.56, opened Australia's gold-medal account in Glasgow The Guardian. The 1500m is swimming's longest pool race — 30 lengths of a 50-metre pool — and Pallister won it at a canter.

Iona Anderson, 20, took the women's 100m backstroke in 58.71 seconds, edging Canada's Kylie Masse by just 0.06 — a fingertip at the wall. Tim Hodge won the men's 100m backstroke S9 (a classification for swimmers with physical impairments), and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team of Sam Short, Harry Turner, Ed Sommerville and Kai Taylor set a Games record of 7:01.47, with Taylor swimming the anchor leg to hold off England The Guardian.

There was one Australian heartbreak. Matthew Temple, who had broken the 100m butterfly Games record with 50.63 in the semi-finals, lost the final by the slimmest margin the sport allows — one hundredth of a second. Canada's Josh Liendo touched in 50.42 to Temple's 50.43 The Guardian.

England's Alice Tai won the women's 100m backstroke S9, with Australia's Gemma Selick taking silver and Victoria Belando Nicholson bronze The Guardian.

For McEvoy, the individual gold adds a line his resume had been missing. His world record in March confirmed him as the fastest man ever over 50 metres of a pool, and he has signalled interest in adding the 50m butterfly to his programme Reuters. For now, though, the sprint freestyle crown at the Commonwealth Games is his.