Swimming at the 2026 Commonwealth Games – Men's 800 metre freestyle
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The men's 800 metre freestyle event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games was held on 27 July at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre. This will be first time that a men's 800 metre freestyle will be contested at the Commonwealth Games with both this event and the women's 1500 metre freestyle added to the 2026 swimming program.[1]
| Men's 800 metre freestyle at the 2026 Commonwealth Games | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tollcross International Swimming Centre | |||||||||
| Dates | 27 July | |||||||||
| Winning time | 7:39.81 | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
The inaugural title was won by Australian Sam Short, as Australia swept the podium as they had in the 400 metre freestyle, relegating the Irish Olympic champion, Daniel Wiffen to fourth.[2]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world, Commonwealth and Games records were as follows:
| Record | Time | Athlete (nation) | Meet | Location | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World record | 7:32.12 |  Zhang Lin (CHN) |
2009 World Championships | Rome, Italy | 29 July 2009 | [3][4] |
| Commonwealth record | 7:36.73 |  Samuel Short (AUS) |
2026 Australian Trials | Sydney, Australia | 10 June 2026 | [5][6][7] |
| Games record | N/A |
Schedule
The schedule is as follows:[8]
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 27 July 2026 | 10:30 | Slower heats |
| 19:00 | Fastest heat |
Results
Timed final
The 800 and 1500 metres events are held in a time trial format; swimmers with slower entry times swim in the morning 'heats', while the swimmers with the eight fastest entry times swim in the 'timed final' in the evening session. The times of all the swims are then combined to create a single final result.[9]
| Rank | Heat | Lane | Swimmer | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2 | 4 | Sam Short |  Australia | 7:39.81 | |
 | 2 | 3 | Benjamin Goedemans | Australia | 7:46.49 | |
 | 2 | 6 | Matthew Galea | Australia | 7:47.10 | |
| 4 | 2 | 5 | Daniel Wiffen |  Northern Ireland | 7:48.82 | |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | Luke Hornsey |  Scotland | 7:59.58 | |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | Tyler Melbourne-Smith |  Wales | 7:59.79 | |
| 7 | 1 | 7 | Hoe Yean Khiew |  Malaysia | 8:04.47 | |
| 8 | 2 | 7 | Aryan Nehra |  India | 8:07.26 | |
| 9 | 2 | 6 | Sean McCann | Scotland | 8:11.34 | |
| 10 | 1 | 4 | Russel Pang |  Singapore | 8:13.47 | |
| 11 | 1 | 5 | Samuel Sterry |  Jersey | 8:29.65 | |
| 12 | 1 | 3 | Oscar Maddrell |  Isle of Man | 8:40.24 | |
| 13 | 1 | 6 | Connor Macdonald |  Cayman Islands | 8:41.32 | |
| 14 | 1 | 1 | Christian Chang-Chipolina |  Gibraltar | 9:19.83 | |
| William Caswell |  Saint Helena | DNS |