2026 Commonwealth Games
WOMEN’S 4×200 Freestyle RELAY – Final
World Record: 7:37.50 – Australia (2023)
Commonwealth Record: 7:37.50 – Australia (2023)
Commonwealth Games Record: 7:39.27 – Australia (2022)
2022 Commonwealth Champion – Australia, 7:39.27
Top 8:
Australia (Pallister, Casey, Miller, O’Callaghan) – 7:42.53
England (Colbert, Wood, Schlosshan, Anderson) – 7:50.10
New Zealand (Fairweather, Deans, Thomas, Tapper) – 7:51.94
Scotland (Barnes, Hope, Mackie, Davis) – 8:03.58
Canada (Brousseau, Kryger, Lloyd, Jansen) – 8:07.07
South Africa (Coetzee, Nel, Robertson, Pearse) – 8:09.16
Wales (Taylor, Harris, Bastone, Davies) – 8:09.38
Cayman Islands (Rabess, Barrowman, Broadbelt, Watson) – 8:41.84
Leadoff Legs
Lani Pallister pulled away down the final 50, getting out to a lead of almost a second for Australia and nearly matching her individual swim of 1:55.02 which won silver. Individual bronze medalist Erika Fairweather overhauled England’s Freya Colbert in the closing stages as both touched in 1:55.9, slightly slower than they managed individually.
Megan Barnes broke 2:00 for Scotland, just off her best of 1:59.65 with a 1:59.82, with Dune Coetze on the other side of the 2:00 barrier in 2:00.22.
Theodora Taylor couldn’t repeat her record-setting 4×100 free leadoff, adding nearly three seconds with a 2:00.97 after setting a new Welsh record in the 100 free earlier tonight. Her lifetime best and British age group record of 1:58.29 comes from the leadoff on this relay at the European Junior Championships earlier this month.
Julie Brousseau was over four seconds off her best of 1:57.60 for Canada, while Kyra Rabess was a couple of seconds off her best of 2:04.99 for the Cayman Islands.
Rolling Splits
Australia had the three fastest rolling splits, but the order would have surprised you prior to the Games. Hannah Casey clocked 1:55.43 on the second leg for the Aussies, six tenths of a second faster than her lifetime best of 1:56.09.
Inez Miller was also under her flat start best with a 1:55.78, giving anchor leg Mollie O’Callaghan a lead of six seconds. The 200 free champion cruised to a 1:56.19, a second and a half slower than her winning time from the individual event but still over a second and a half faster than any non-Australian split.
England got a pair of 1:58-low splits from Abbie Wood and Leah Schlosshan in the middle of their relay, with Freya Anderson splitting 30.48/29.72 on the second 100 to pull away from New Zealand’s Milana Tapper on the final 100 of the race and split 1:57.75.
Tapper was one of three New Zealand splits in the top ten, with Caitlin Deans at 1:58.12 and Eve Thomas also sub-2:00 in 1:59.57. Canada’s Ella Jansen was the only swimmer not from Australia, England, or New Zealand to break that barrier.
Backstroker Madison Kryger split 2:00.41 for the Canadians, but they were sunk a little by Delia Lloyd‘s 2:06.45 on the third leg. Scotland had all three legs between 2:01.15 and 2:01.34, albeit with two of their three swimmers over a second off their lifetime best. 17-year-old Evi Mackie was the exception, just off her best of 2:01.11 in 2:01.34.