Carter Swift is a Taranaki-born freestyle sprint specialist and one of New Zealand's most experienced relay performers.

Swift first represented New Zealand at the 2018 Oceania Swimming Championships in Papua New Guinea, winning gold in the 50m butterfly and 100m freestyle, silver in the 50m freestyle, and a further four gold medals across relay events.

A nine-time NCAA Division I All-American at Arizona State University, Swift has been a fixture in New Zealand's sprint relay teams since making his Aquablack debut at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest.

At his first World Championships, he helped New Zealand to a ninth-place finish in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay and narrowly missed the men's 100m freestyle semifinal after placing 21st in the heats.

Later that year, Swift contested his first World Championships final as part of the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay that finished seventh at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Melbourne. It capped a demanding campaign in which he raced on six New Zealand relay teams – five of which recorded top-10 finishes – along with two individual events.

Swift returned to the Aquablack team for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, helping New Zealand finish 16th in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay and 17th in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.

After placing third in the 100m freestyle at the 2026 New Zealand Swimming Championships and producing a series of strong relay splits throughout the meet, Swift earned selection to his first Commonwealth Games team.

He will line up in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and has also been granted permission to compete in the men's 100m freestyle.

The sprinter is currently based at Griffith University in Australia, training under the guidance of coach Thomas Fraser-Holmes.