Australia continued its remarkable run at the 2026 Commonwealth Games with another outstanding day in Glasgow, collecting five more swimming gold medals and finishing Day 3 with a commanding lead at the top of the medal table.
The Aussies now boast 17 gold, nine silver and 13 bronze medals, comfortably ahead of England, Scotland, Nigeria and Canada after another action-packed day featuring swimming, para swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and basketball.
A total of 14 gold medals were decided on Day 3, with nine awarded in swimming and para swimming, three in weightlifting and two in artistic gymnastics.
Malaysia celebrated its first weightlifting gold of the Games as Bin Kasdan Mohamad Aniq claimed the men’s 60kg title in Commonwealth Games record fashion. India’s Rishikanta Singh Chanambam secured silver, while Kenya’s Joshua Amunga Mboya completed the podium with bronze.
Host nation Scotland enjoyed a historic moment in artistic gymnastics as 21-year-old Reuben Ward became the country’s first-ever Commonwealth Games men’s all-around champion. Ward finished ahead of Canada’s Felix Dolci and Australia’s Jesse Moore, delighting the Glasgow crowd that had supported him throughout the competition.
After the emotional victory, Ward praised the home fans for helping him through the competition.
“I don’t know whether I would have done it without them,” he said. “There was a few pieces where when I landed my dismount, I was just so relieved I got through, and then hearing the crowd in my ear so loud.
“They were doing it, it was like they were doing it with me. I wasn’t on my own. I had people backing me. I had friends and family in the crowd. I had random people who were screaming and it’s just such a special moment. Again I’m grateful, I think I’ve said that a lot but I’m genuinely just grateful.”
Scotland also continued its impressive run in the men’s 3×3 basketball, defeating Nigeria 21-16 to record its third victory in four Pool A matches.
India’s Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu Saikhom lived up to expectations in the women’s 48kg weightlifting competition. She dominated the event, setting Commonwealth Games records in both the snatch with 85kg and the clean and jerk with 105kg to secure a third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Nigeria also celebrated on the podium as Ruth Nyong claimed silver, while Malaysia’s Irene Henry earned bronze.
The swimming pool produced another night of thrilling performances. Scotland’s Angharad Evans thrilled the home supporters by staging a remarkable late comeback to win the women’s 100m breaststroke ahead of South Africa’s Aimee Canny and Australia’s Sienna Toohey.
England’s Alice Tai successfully defended her women’s 100m backstroke S9 title, adding another Commonwealth Games gold to those she won at Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022. Australia’s Gemma Sellick and Victoria Belando Nicholson finished second and third respectively.
Canada’s Josh Liendo produced one of the standout swims of the evening, breaking the Commonwealth Games record with a time of 50.42 seconds to win the men’s 100m butterfly. Australia’s Matthew Temple and Ben Armbruster completed the podium with silver and bronze.
Australia responded with another surprise victory as 20-year-old Iona Anderson claimed gold in the women’s 100m backstroke. Anderson, whose mother is Scottish, powered through the final 50 metres to defeat pre-race favourite Kylie Masse of Canada, while South Africa’s Olivia Nel secured bronze.
South Africa’s Pieter Coetze continued his sensational form by winning his second gold medal of the Games. After taking the 50m backstroke title on Day 2, Coetze dominated the men’s 200m backstroke and shattered the Commonwealth Games record with a time of 1:54.22. England’s Oliver Morgan won silver, while teammate Luke Greenbank claimed bronze.
Malaysia enjoyed more success in weightlifting as Muhamad Aznil captured his third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal, this time in the men’s 65kg division. Aznil broke Games records in both the snatch and clean and jerk before finishing with an overall Games record total of 299kg. India’s Raja Muthupandi took silver, while Papua New Guinea’s Morea Baru won bronze.
Canada’s Ellie Black added another chapter to her remarkable career by winning the women’s artistic gymnastics individual all-around title. She edged Australia’s Breanna Scott by just 0.150 points, while 16-year-old Canadian Lia-Monica Fontaine earned bronze in an impressive breakthrough performance.
The victory gave Black her ninth Commonwealth Games medal, making her Canada’s most decorated female gymnast. It also marked her first Commonwealth all-around title since Gold Coast 2018.
“I was definitely tired, this was my second All-Around in two days, and before that my last All-Round was two years ago,” Black said.
“I’m so proud. My goal was not to come in and win. It was to come in and compete again. To come out on top, is the cherry on top. I love the Commonwealths, it’s so fun to be here.”
Former British gymnast Beth Tweddle praised the achievement, saying: “Picking up another Commonwealth title eight years after your last is absolutely insane.”
Australia then produced one of the performances of the night in the men’s 50m freestyle. Cameron McEvoy stormed to victory in a Commonwealth Games record time of 20.97 seconds as Australia completed a clean sweep of the podium. Flynn Southam finished second, while Jamie Jack secured bronze.
Lani Pallister also continued her outstanding Games by winning the inaugural women’s 1500m freestyle title. The Australian touched home in 15:41.03 to collect her second gold medal of the competition ahead of New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather and fellow Australian Molly Walker.
History was also made in the boxing ring as 19-year-old Charif Yaya became the first athlete from Togo to compete at the Commonwealth Games following the country’s admission into the Commonwealth in 2022. Although he lost his men’s 55kg bout to Namibia’s Philip Pumulo Mutakela Haoseb, Yaya remained determined to improve.
“Really I would have liked to win this fight. I’m just thinking about it and actually that’s the only thing I think about. I want to watch again the fight to better understand how the guy fights against me, and I want just to be better.”
Australia closed another memorable evening in the pool by winning the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay in another Commonwealth Games record. The Australians narrowly edged England into second, while Wales completed the podium with bronze.
At the end of Day 3, Australia sits comfortably on top of the medal standings with 17 gold, nine silver and 13 bronze medals. England remains second with four gold, nine silver and six bronze medals, while Scotland occupies third place with four gold and two silver medals. Nigeria is fourth with three gold and four silver medals, while Canada rounds out the top five with three gold, three silver and three bronze medals.
