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Live sport on SN this weekendFairweather, Clareburt lead strong NZ morning in Glasgow pool
Sport Nation • July 25th, 2026 10:46 am
Lewis Clareburt | Photo: Photosport
New Zealand’s swimmers made a strong start in the pool in Glasgow, with Erika Fairweather and Lewis Clareburt both claiming silver medals.
Fairweather won New Zealand’s first medal of the Games in the women’s 400m freestyle, finishing second in 4min 02.65s behind Australia’s Lani Pallister, who took gold in 3min 59.56s.
The result was Fairweather’s first Commonwealth Games medal and a welcome reward after several near misses on the big stage.
“Still, you can’t be mad when you come away with that,” Fairweather said. “I was gutted last time when I never won a medal, so this is super-special.”
Erika Fairweather | Photo: Photosport
It was also a notable race for New Zealand, with Caitlin Deans finishing sixth and Eve Thomas eighth, giving the country three swimmers in the final.
Clareburt then added another silver in the men’s 200m individual medley, producing a personal best of 1min 56.77s to finish behind Scotland’s Duncan Scott.
The medal was Clareburt’s fifth at Commonwealth Games level, and he was especially pleased to finally break through the 1min 57s barrier.
“I’ve been sitting on that 1min 57s mark for eight years,” Clareburt said. “It’s so good to have finally cracked it, and on such a big stage.”
There was more good news in the women’s 50m butterfly, with Hazel Ouwehand and Zoe Pedersen both progressing to the final. Ouwehand qualified third fastest in 26.01s, while Pedersen advanced sixth in 26.38s.
They race tonight at 7:55pm NZT.
