Clareburt Strikes Gold as New Zealand Claims Another Three Medals in Glasgow
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Day Four Wrap – Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
Lewis Clareburt (United / Nunawading – coached by Jol Finck) has claimed Commonwealth Games gold in the men's 200m butterfly, leading a three-medal haul for New Zealand swimmers on day four of the competition in Glasgow.
Clareburt, 27, produced a trademark finishing burst to defend his Commonwealth Games title in the men's 200m butterfly, storming home over the closing stages to leave Australia's Harrison Turner behind and claim gold in 1:55.05 – defending his Commonwealth title from four years ago in Birmingham.
Turner had led the race from the opening 50 metres, but the New Zealander closed relentlessly, becoming the only swimmer in the field to break 30 seconds over the final 50 metres as he surged to victory. Turner took silver in 1:55.38, with fellow Australian Matthew Temple claiming bronze in 1:55.45.
"I knew from four years ago that in that last 50 metres it's anyone's race. When I turned around and saw No. 1 next to me, I felt like I could run through a brick wall. I was so stoked, so happy," said Clareburt. "I wasn't expecting to win. Coming up against Duncan Scott in front of his home crowd and Harry Turner, who's one of the best in the world, it was always going to be tough."
Joshua Willmer (Coast – coached by Michael Weston) added silver in the men's SB9 100m breaststroke para final, producing another outstanding performance while competing up a classification. Swimming up a classification, Willmer clocked 1:11.44 to finish second, lowering the SB8 Commonwealth Games record he had set in the heats. His medal was confirmed following the disqualification of the initial race winner.
"I'm stoked! I feel for the guy who got the disqualification – no one wants that to happen, but I'm super proud of swimming up a classification and picking up the silverware," said Willmer.
New Zealand rounded out the medal tally with bronze in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, where Erika Fairweather (North Shore – coached by Graham Hill), Caitlin Deans (Neptune & Swim Dunedin – coached by Lars Humer), Eve Thomas (Coast – coached by Michael Weston) and Milana Tapper (St Peter's / Griffith Uni – coached by Tommy Fraser Holmes) combined to clock 7:51.94. The quartet lowered the New Zealand record by more than a second and claimed New Zealand's first Commonwealth Games relay medal since Delhi 2010.
The bronze was Fairweather's fourth medal of the Games, making her one of only a handful of New Zealand athletes to win four medals at a single Commonwealth Games.
"So proud to be on this podium with these girls today," said Fairweather.
Tapper praised the team's effort, saying,
"It was really painful, but Erika gave us an awesome start and the girls carried us through. It was a good finish."
Earlier, Hazel Ouwehand (Phoenix – coached by David Lyles) contested the women's 100m butterfly final, finishing eighth in 59.63 after qualifying through the semifinals the previous day.
"I gave it everything I've got. It's been a big four days and I'm proud to have made another Commonwealth Games final," said Ouwehand.
There was more success in the backstroke events, with both Savannah-Eve Martin and Amber George (both of Coast – coached by Michael Weston) progressing to the women's 50m backstroke final. Martin qualified sixth fastest in 28.28, while George advanced seventh fastest in 28.37.
Carter Swift (United / Griffith Uni – coached by Tommy Fraser-Holmes) continued his breakout campaign by qualifying for the men's 100m freestyle final. The Kiwi clocked 48.77 to finish fifth in his semifinal and eighth overall, improving by almost a second from his morning heat.
"I've far exceeded my expectations. I was only supposed to be in the relay, so to make the semifinals and now the final is pretty special," said Swift.
Cameron Gray (United – coached by Andy McMillan) placed 17th in the 100m freestyle.
Looking ahead to day five, New Zealand will again have a strong presence in the pool, with five swimmers contesting heats.
Day Five
Heats (from 9:30pm NZST – Tuesday 28 July)
Women's 50m freestyle (Edwards, Pedersen, Tapper)
Men's 400m individual medley (Clareburt)
Men's 50m butterfly (Gray)
Potential Finals Swims (from 6:00am NZST – Wednesday 29 July)
FINAL – Men's 100m freestyle (Swift)
FINAL ** – Men's 400m individual medley (Clareburt)
SEMI-FINAL ** – Women's 50m freestyle (Edwards, Pedersen, Tapper)
SEMI-FINAL ** – Men's 50m butterfly (Gray)
FINAL – Women's 50m backstroke (George, Martin)
FASTEST TIMED FINAL – Women's 800m freestyle (Deans, Fairweather, Thomas)
** denotes subject to qualification
Day Six
Heats (from 9:30pm NZST – Wednesday 29 July)
Men's 200m freestyle (Clareburt)
Potential Finals Swims (from 6:00am NZST – Thursday 30 July)
FINAL ** – Men's 200m freestyle (Clareburt)
FINAL ** – Women's 50m freestyle (Edwards, Pedersen, Tapper)
FINAL ** – Men's 50m butterfly (Gray)
** denotes subject to qualification
Follow the action live
Follow Swimming NZ on Instagram (@swimming_nz) and Facebook, and keep an eye on our website, to stay up to date with all the swimming action from Glasgow.
You can find the schedule and results for the Games via the link below.
Don’t miss any of the action on Sky Sport during these Games. As the exclusive New Zealand broadcaster, Sky will bring fans closer to the action than ever before, with extensive live and on-demand coverage across Sky Sport, Sky Sport Now, Sky Go, and free-to-air via Three and ThreeNow.
You can also download the NZ Team app to track your favourite sports and Kiwi athletes as they strive for gold in Glasgow.
Entries by Swimmer
Lewis Clareburt
Men's 200m individual medley – silver – final: 1:56.77 (NZ record)
Men's 200m butterfly – gold – final: 1:55.05
Men's 400m individual medley
Men's 200m freestyle
Caitlin Deans
Women's 400m freestyle – 6th place – final: 4:09.45
Women's 1500m freestyle – 5th place – final: 16:08.62 (PB)
Women's 4x200m freestyle relay – bronze – final: 7:51.94 (NZ record)
Women's 800m freestyle
Chelsey Edwards
Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 4th place – final: 3:24.82 (NZ record)
Women's 100m freestyle – 22nd place – heat: 56.72
Women's 50m freestyle
Erika Fairweather
Women's 400m freestyle – silver medal – final: 4:02.65
Women's 200m freestyle – bronze medal – final: 1:55.24
Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 4th place – final: 3:24.82 (NZ record)
Women's 1500m freestyle – silver medal – final: 15:58.97
Women's 4x200m freestyle relay – bronze – final: 7:51.94 (NZ record)
Women's 800m freestyle
Amber George
Women's 100m backstroke – 11th place – semi-final: 1:01.24
Women's 50m backstroke
Cameron Gray
Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 4th place – final: 3:24.82 (NZ record)
Men's 100m freestyle
Men's 50m butterfly
Savannah-Eve Martin
Women's 100m backstroke – 12th place – semi-final: 1:01.35
Women's 50m backstroke
Hazel Ouwehand
Women's 50m butterfly – bronze medal – final: 25.76
Women's 100m butterfly – 8th place – final: 59.63
Zoe Pedersen
Women's 50m butterfly – 5th place – final: 26.24
Women's 100m freestyle – 12th place – semi-final: 55.49
Women's 50m freestyle
Carter Swift
Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 4th place – final: 3:24.82 (NZ record)
Men's 100m freestyle
Milana Tapper
Mixed 4x100m freestyle relay – 4th place (heat swimmer)
Women's 4x200m freestyle relay – bronze – final: 7:51.94 (NZ record)
Women's 50m freestyle
Eve Thomas
Women's 400m freestyle – 8th place – final: 4:12.23
Women's 1500m freestyle – 8th place – final: 16:29.63
Women's 4x200m freestyle relay – bronze – final: 7:51.94 (NZ record)
Women's 800m freestyle
Joshua Willmer
Men's 100m breaststroke SB9 – silver – final: 1:11.44 (SB8 Games record)
New Zealand Team
Name | Club | Coach |
Lewis Clareburt | United | Jol Finck (Nunawading) |
Caitlin Deans | Neptune & Swim Dunedin | Lars Humer |
Chelsey Edwards | North Shore | Graham Hill |
Erika Fairweather | North Shore | Graham Hill |
Amber George | Coast | Michael Weston |
Cameron Gray | United | Andy McMillan |
Savannah-Eve Martin | Coast | Michael Weston |
Hazel Ouwehand | Phoenix Aquatics | David Lyles |
Zoe Pedersen | Coast | Michael Weston |
Carter Swift | United | Tommy Fraser-Holmes (Griffith University) |
Milana Tapper | St Peter's | Tommy Fraser-Holmes (Griffith University) |
Eve Thomas | Coast | Michael Weston |
Joshua Willmer | Coast | Michael Weston |
New Zealand Team Staff
Name | Organisation / Club | Role |
Graham Hill | Swimming NZ & North Shore | Head Coach |
Michael Weston | Coast | Assistant Coach |
David Lyles | Phoenix Aquatics | Assistant Coach |
Matt Ingram | HPSNZ | Team Manager / Analyst |
Rebecca Longhurst | HPSNZ | Team Physio |
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