Australia dominated the Glasgow pool, but how would they rate at the Olympics? We’ve run the numbers

July 31, 2026 — 11:30am

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Glasgow: Australia’s swimmers won almost as many gold medals in six days at these Commonwealth Games as they have across every Olympic campaign combined since Sydney 2000.

The record 37 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals accumulated by the Dolphins across 56 events in the Glasgow pool were great if you like seeing swimmers with big grins on medal podiums and the sound of the Australian national anthem.

But for most Australian sports fans, there is only one benchmark that matters when it comes to the country’s elite swimmers: the Olympic Games.

The recent medal avalanche against weaker Commonwealth opposition – and the fact some of those medals were won by para athletes when the Olympics are staged separately from the Paralympics – risks creating an inflated picture of where this Australian team sits two years out from the Los Angeles Games.

Make no mistake, this is an outstanding Australian team. Its results since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 prove that, through consistency alone. Australia will be one of the dominant nations in LA. But next month’s Pan Pacific Championships against the United States in California should provide a much sterner examination and barometer of how they are faring.

How many of these swimmers are genuine Olympic gold medal contenders?

Based purely on times from Glasgow, compared with the Paris Olympics two years ago, Australia would have won two gold, five silver and six bronze medals in 2024 – Cam McEvoy (50m freestyle) and Sam Short (400m freestyle), with no relay gold medals.

The comparison comes with obvious caveats. The Commonwealth Games lacks Olympic depth, serving up less intense races, and athletes peak at different times with training geared all around a four-year cycle.

Meanwhile, some of Australia’s swimmers have done recent personal bests that would have won gold at the last Olympics. Mollie O’Callaghan’s 200m freestyle time at........

© The Sydney Morning Herald