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Gold for Van Niekerk as SA swimmers rake in more medals in Glasgow

28 July 2026 21:20| © SuperSport
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It was another sparkling night for South Africa at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Tuesday as swimmers Lara van Niekerk, Nathan Hendricks, Danika Vyncke, Aimee Canny and the mixed medley relay squad raked in more medals for the country.

Van Niekerk defended the women's 50m breaststroke title she won in Birmingham in style at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.

The South African dug deep all the way down the lane to win in 30.43, a gold medal that she conceded “means more than the one four years ago because of the difficulties I’ve had to overcome.”

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"To be honest, I heard my teammates screaming, so I knew I possibly had won gold, but I had to take off my goggles, to make sure that I had won. I am grateful to have defended my title, especially after missing out on doing so in the 100m breaststroke. There are so many people I need to thank for all their support and love. It meant so much," said an elated Van Niekerk.

Earlier, Hendricks claimed second spot in in the Men's 50m Freestyle S13 (24.84) behind's Scotland's Stephen Clegg.

This was the Tuks swimmer's second medal at the Games after winning 100m freestyle.

According to Hendricks, he did not know that he had medalled.

"My coach had to tell me that I had won silver. Going into the event, I felt pressure because I had won gold in the 100m freestyle, but luckily, my nerves settled down as I stepped out to race. I am super grateful for the opportunity to race at the Games and for the lessons learned."

Hendricks's compatriot and Tuks teammate, Vyncke, meanwhile, stormed to silver in the Women's 50m Freestyle S13 Final to claim her first medal of the Games, clocking 28.41 to break the African record in the process.

"Oh my word. This is so unexpected. I was devastated after the 100m freestyle. I try not to tie my identity to swimming. I am more than just a swimmer, but moments like this are so rewarding. It is my first international medal," said Vyncke.

Canny joined the celebrations with second spot in the Women's 200m Individual Medley with a brilliant 2:09.37 — her second medal of these Games.

With the performance, she proved that she has BMT. Canny was fastest over the first 50m in the butterfly, but then she dropped badly back over the 50m backstroke. It meant that at the halfway mark, she was in seventh place. Giving up was not an option and she made up five places in the 50m breaststroke to finish second.

South Africa's Pieter Coetze laid down the gauntlet with a Games record time of 52.20 in the Men's 100m backstroke semifinal and the Tuks swimmer will no doubt be eying another medal for South Africa after claiming gold in the 50m and 200m.

Team South Africa's mixed medley relay squad, starring Pieter Coetze, Michael Houlie, Erin Gallagher and Aimee Canny, capped off a brilliant night for South Africa with another silver medal.

The awesome foursome, aided by Coetze's Games record backstroke leg, stormed to second place in 3:42.61, smashing the African record to earn South Africa its 7th silver of Glasgow 2026 and the 16th medal overall.

The race  was certainly a highlight from a tactical point of view. Coetze started in the backstroke and completed the 100m in 51.98s. This is only 0.38s slower than Thomas Ceccon's world record. 

Houlie extended South Africa's lead in the 100m breaststroke (59.65s). Then Gallagher did well in the 100m butterfly (57.40s) to keep South Africa in second place before Canny completed the 100m freestyle (53.38s). 

South Africa's swimming super star, Chad le Clos, was part of the squad that claimed the mixed 4x100m relay silver medal.

Le Clos had helped Team SA through the morning qualifiers, but he watched from the stands as his teammates claimed second spot behind Australia.

“We did it for Chad,” Gallagher said. “We wanted to get that 20th medal for him.”

Indeed, the silver will go onto Le Clos’s CV, which means that he joins Australian female swimmer Emma McKeon as the most decorated Commonwealth Games athlete ever. 

© Additional reporting by TuksSport

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