Team Scotland claimed their first medals of Glasgow 2026 on fantastic opening night in the pool. Flower of Scotland rang out twice for gold medals from Duncan Scott in the 200m Individual Medley and Faye Rogers in the SM10 200m Individual Medley, as the Scots put on a show, roared home by the home crowd.

Silver for Stephen Clegg and Katie Shanahan added to the Team Scotland haul, with both 4x100m Freestyle Relay teams narrowly missing out in 4th.

Duncan’s gold was Team Scotland ‘s first medal of Glasgow 2026 as he touched home in a new Commonwealth Games record of 1.56.38. His delight was evident at securing an incredible 14th Commonwealth Games medal and getting his fourth Games appearance off to a winning start. As one of the most experienced swimmers in the team, the drive to set the tone for the night was also at the forefront of his mind.

“I just wanted to try and take it out,” he said. “A really good backstroke split in there, from the swimming side of things, that was the focus. From a more emotional standpoint, and for the team, it was trying to get the momentum going, a bit of a weight on the shoulders for that, but it’s more of a relief than anything else.

“It’s tricky, I think it doesn’t matter how high or low I feel emotionally, it doesn’t matter if it’s a really good performance or if it’s a really bad one – I think something that I’ve always done quite well is evaluate at the end of the week. When you’re reflecting back, I guess I’ve probably not taken the highs as well as I could’ve but that also means I can be really good when it comes to day six, day seven, day eight of competitions. It’s one that I’ll probably think about and savour once the meet’s over.”

Also swimming in the 200m IM final was Evan Jones, who took 7th place, just a tenth of a second from 5th.

It was a dominant display from Paris 2024 Paralympic Champion Faye Rogers, though not in her favoured event. She led the field home in the SM10 200 IM by two and a half seconds, becoming Team Scotland’s first ever gold medallist in a para swimming event a said: “I was so nervous all day actually. I think with the medley not being my preferred event and certainly not my best event, it’s always a bit unpredictable for me. I’m not quite as confident as I am with the butterfly so I was definitely more nervous than I’ve ever been – all day I’ve been wandering around saying it, everyone is probably sick of me. I’m so so happy it worked out.

“I actually watched Duncan’s swim before my warm-up and it was a massive driving force – it’s just incredible. It was actually the same event and I was stood in the prep space watching the men thinking ‘if I could just do that!’ – it’s so inspiring. Duncan is someone that I looked up to growing up and even now, sometimes sat at the same table as him, I’m slightly nervous. It’s really cool to be the first female gold medal, it’s just incredible and home Games, home pool, how cool is that!”

Stephen Clegg, added silver in the S13 100m Freestyle, the same colour medal he took in the 50m event at Birmingham 2022. Finishing close behind South African winner Nathan Hendricks, he credited the home support with the boost he needed to grab a spot on the podium.

“The crowd really sort of drags you on,” he said. “My back end has been a difficult thing to pick up this year just with 16 months off after Paris, it’s hard. As a distance swimmer, it’s a hard thing to build back. I think that crowd really dragged me along. I think me at my best I’d have been able to challenge a bit more for that gold but I’m really proud of the achievements and the journey I’ve been on this season. It’s been really difficult, I’m 30-years-old now, it’s really challenging [at this age]. I think, on my best day, it might’ve been a different colour but it doesn’t take away from what Nathan’s achieved or what I’ve achieved on this day. I’m really proud of both myself and him.”

Katie Shanahan took two bronze medals four years ago in Birmingham and she went one better tonight with silver in the 200m Backstroke. Fellow Scot Holly McGill touched home in 4th.

“I’m absolutely delighted with that,” said Katie. “The time wasn’t the way I wanted it to be but, you know what, to come away with a silver medal, if I knew tonight it would just be about racing the field, you do find that in events like this, times kind of go out the window [and it’s] just whoever gets their hand on the wall first, so, I’m absolutely delighted.

“I didn’t realise how close it was to be honest, because I was a bit further out I couldn’t really see anyone. I knew from this morning that Jenna was going to come back pretty fast and she’s got the bronze medal, that’s pretty amazing what she’s just done, so just happy to have been one of them to get my hand on the wall.

It was also a successful outing for Team Scotland’s youngest athlete, Evi Mackie, in the morning heats, getting her first Games experience in the 400m Freestyle and winning heat two.

She said: “First race for Scotland and I was the youngest so it’s nice to soak that up.

“I’m going into S6 which is the last year of high school. All my friends are so buzzing, they’re like ‘You’re going to the Commonwealth Games, that’s amazing!’ I’ve got a lot of support from them and my teachers as well; they all love keeping up with my swimming, they absolutely love it.

“This is the first senior meet for me, so I’m just trying to gain that experience and obviously it’s nice to watch them [Duncan Scott and team] to see what they do in and out of the pool. Honestly, I just want to enjoy the experience and learn things along the way.”

“It was absolutely amazing, I didn’t really know what to expect coming into it but it’s everything I thought it would be.”

On Saturday, Angharad Evans takes on her first event of the championships – the 100m Breaststroke. Angharad holds the four fastest times in the world this year in the event. Off the back of their 200m Backstroke final appearances, Katie Shanahan and Holly McGill will turn their focus to the 100m event.