{"id":827877,"date":"2026-07-27T23:15:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T23:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/827877\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T23:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T23:15:14","slug":"commonwealth-games-2026-australia-takes-dominant-medal-haul-but-the-inspiring-story-of-archie-goodburn-steals-the-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/827877\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonwealth Games 2026: Australia takes dominant medal haul but the inspiring story of Archie Goodburn steals the show"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Scroll down to see the full Commonwealth Games medal tally.<\/p>\n

Glasgow: Australia won an absurd number of medals in the pool on night four of the Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins claimed seven gold, three silver and five bronze to take their overall tally to a somewhat comical 23 victories over England\u2019s four at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.<\/p>\n

\"LaniLani Pallister, Hannah Casey, Inez Miller and Mollie O\u2019Callaghan after Australia\u2019s 4x200m freestyle victory on Monday in Glasgow. Getty Images<\/p>\n

But despite another Australian onslaught, the story of the night belonged to a low-profile, 25-year-old Scot who finished equal last in the men\u2019s 100m breaststroke \u2013 a race won in thrilling fashion by Sam Williamson.<\/p>\n

Archie Goodburn has terminal brain cancer. There is a very real chance he will not live beyond the age of 40.<\/p>\n

For him to be swimming, let alone standing on the blocks in a major international final listening to the roar of an adoring home crowd, is a testament to his resilience and a fighting attitude that everyone who attended Monday evening\u2019s program could only marvel at.<\/p>\n

\"ArchieArchie Goodburn of Scotland following his 50m breaststroke final at the Commonwealth Games.PA Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to look back on this as an incredible moment in my life,\u201d an emotional Goodburn told a handful of reporters as more prominent medal winners zipped in and out of a busy mixed zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of tough months over the past few years. Every athlete talks about tough times, but there\u2019s been some really tough times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time last year, it was a dark spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodburn\u2019s life expectancy was slashed after receiving the news as a 22-year-old in 2024 that he had three \u201clow grade\u201d incurable brain tumours. He had just finished training and was sitting beside Edinburgh\u2019s Commonwealth pool when he received the phone call that changed his life.<\/p>\n

Doctors cannot operate because the tumours have spread throughout Goodburn\u2019s brain. He suffered seizures and numbness down the left side of his body.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an end point to my life and it\u2019s much earlier than it should be,\u201d Goodburn told the BBC.<\/p>\n

The prospect of giving up swimming, his one true love, was inconceivable. Remarkably, Goodburn has become faster since his diagnosis, adamant that cancer will not defeat him.<\/p>\n

There has also been encouraging news in recent months after Goodburn was granted access to Vorasidenib, a treatment he helped campaign for.<\/p>\n

The drug has delayed the need for chemotherapy and allowed him to compete in Glasgow. Goodburn arrived hoping to win a medal, but seldom will you find a happier swimmer after finishing equal seventh.<\/p>\n

The ovation he received from his home crowd was unlike anything else during the night, with Goodburn later describing it as \u201cnext level\u201d.<\/p>\n

But when asked how he manages to remain so positive, knowing his condition could deteriorate at any moment, he paused.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really difficult question because this is just a snapshot,\u201d Goodburn said. \u201cThis is the highlight of that massive crowd in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped for 10 seconds, his bottom lip quivering.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry. I want to find an answer for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another five seconds passed. Then came a big breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that my own advocacy can make a difference to my own life,\u201d Goodburn said. \u201cThe best way I can do that is to be positive about the situation and positive for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also advocate for the future Archies. I swim for future Archies who want to succeed on an international level. But also young patients and people with brain cancer under the age of 40. Brain cancer is the biggest killer of all cancers for people under the age of 40 in the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back on where I am now \u2026 I can\u2019t say a big enough thank you. I\u2019m feeling extremely privileged and very fortunate, very blessed to have even had the chance to take part.<\/p>\n

\"MegMeg Harris, Mollie O\u2019Callaghan and Shayna Jack after Australia went 1-2-3 in the women\u2019s 100m freestyle. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cLong may that continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the nine medal events on the swimming program on Tuesday, Australia won all but two. The Dolphins were always going to dominate the Commonwealth Games, but the regularity of victories has made it difficult for the casual fan to know what\u2019s a good swim and what\u2019s not quite world-class.<\/p>\n

The biggest surprise came in the women\u2019s 100m freestyle, where a sluggish Mollie O\u2019Callaghan (53.25) settled for silver behind teammate Meg Harris (52.90), who produced arguably Australia\u2019s swim of the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my first [win] in the individual 100m freestyle, so I couldn\u2019t be happier with that result,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Callaghan appears at peace with the fact she is not swimming as well as she would like to due to a back injury. \u201cMeg absolutely killed it tonight,\u201d O\u2019Callaghan said. \u201cI\u2019m just so happy to be here. After my 200 [freestyle], I didn\u2019t feel like myself. You\u2019ve got to adapt at the end of the day. Meg has killed it this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Harrison Turner (1:55.38) claimed silver in the 200m butterfly but was left wondering what might have been after fading over the closing stages.<\/p>\n

Jenna Forrester (4:31.19) was clinical in her 400m individual medley victory but is still a way off Canadian superstar and world record holder Summer McIntosh, while Alex Perkins (56.38) was too strong in the women\u2019s 100m butterfly.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

Williamson\u2019s golden Commonwealth Games campaign rolled on when he stormed home to edge South Africa\u2019s Michael Houlie and England\u2019s Adam Ramsay-Peaty in the men\u2019s 100m breaststroke.<\/p>\n

Sam Short then underlined his class by cruising to the 800m freestyle title in 7:39.81, although the time was more than three seconds outside the personal best he swam at last month\u2019s Australian trials. The icing on the cake was Australia\u2019s red-hot 4x200m freestyle team, anchored by O\u2019Callaghan, cruising to a 7.57 second win over England.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"TomTom Decent<\/a> is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"BillieBillie Eder<\/a> is a sports reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":827878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-827877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/827878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}