Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026 Day 2: Sam Williamson Shocks Adam Peaty, Jersey Ends 36-Year Medal Drought

Day 2 of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games (Friday 24 July / Saturday 25 July) produced the biggest upset of the swimming program, a historic medal for a small island nation, and a golden haul that cemented Australia's dominance at the top of the medal table.

Sam Williamson's Stunning Upset Over Adam Ramsay-Peaty

Australian Sam Williamson, a 28-year-old underdog, shocked the Tollcross International Swimming Centre by winning the men's 100m breaststroke final in 59.17 seconds, defeating three-time Olympic champion Adam Ramsay-Peaty of England .

Ramsay-Peaty, the world-record holder and defending champion from the 2014 and 2018 Games, had looked dominant in the heats, posting the fastest qualifying time of 59.46 seconds . But in the final, he could not maintain his pace over the closing 15 metres and faded to bronze in 59.65 .

Williamson's victory was especially remarkable given he had suffered a serious knee injury in April 2025 that kept him out of the sport for 13 months . This was his first individual Commonwealth Games title and the biggest swimming upset of the Games so far .

Ramsay-Peaty, visibly emotional afterward, broke down in tears and later cast doubt on his future in the sport . His fiancee Holly Ramsay watched from the stands at Tollcross .

Filip Nowacki's Historic Silver: Jersey's First Medal in 36 Years

Jersey's 18-year-old Filip Nowacki, the reigning world junior champion in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke, claimed silver with a time of 59.34 seconds — just 0.17 seconds behind Williamson .

The result ended a 36-year Commonwealth Games medal drought for the Channel Island; Jersey had not won a medal since the 1990 Games in Auckland, where shooter Colin Mallett won gold in the Full Bore Rifle event . Nowacki became only the fifth athlete ever to stand on a Commonwealth Games podium for Jersey .

Nowacki, who had entered the 50m mark in fourth position, surged in the second half of the race to overtake both South Africa's Michael Houlie (the early frontrunner) and his own mentor, Adam Ramsay-Peaty . Less than 24 hours later, he qualified for the 50m breaststroke final, continuing his standout Games .

ITV News reported the result as "Jersey's first Commonwealth medal in 36 years" , and multiple BBC articles confirmed the drought-breaking achievement .

Australia's Dominant Medal Haul and Swimming Supremacy

Australia dominated the medal table after two days, winning six gold medals on Day 2 alone — five of them from swimming . This brought Australia's total to 12 golds and 23 overall medals after two days, topping the leaderboard far ahead of second-placed England .

Key Australian swimming golds on Day 2 included:

• Lani Pallister — women's 400m freestyle (Australia's first gold of the Games)
• Sam Short — men's 400m freestyle, leading an Australian 1-2-3 sweep of the podium with Elijah Winnington (silver) and Benjamin Goedemans (bronze)
• Mollie O'Callaghan — women's 200m freestyle
• Sam Williamson — men's 100m breaststroke (the headliner)
• Flynn Southam and the relay teams contributed to a collective five golds from six swimming finals, setting a first-two-days record for the Australian Dolphins

Fox Sports reported the Dolphins secured "nine medals in total" across the first two days, extending a golden streak not seen from the Australian swim team in 16 years . The medal tally after Day 2 saw 10 of the 74 participating nations winning medals across the 14 events contested .

Other Key Storylines from Day 2

Nine gold medals were awarded across six sports on Day 2 .

• Scotland's Duncan Scott broke the Commonwealth Games record in the men's 200m individual medley, sending the Tollcross crowd into a frenzy — a major home-nation highlight .
• England's Adam Ramsay-Peaty did manage bronze at a fourth consecutive Commonwealth Games, but the emotional aftermath dominated headlines .
• New Zealand notched notable performances including a win over England in women's 3x3 basketball and a bronze for Erika Fairweather in the 200m freestyle .
• India opened its medal account with a bronze on Day 1 (Jhandu Kumar in para powerlifting) and saw strong performances in boxing (Sachin Siwach advancing) and lawn bowls (women's pair Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh extending their unbeaten run), but did not add a medal on Day 2 .
• Netball: Australia, New Zealand, and England all made winning starts, with Uganda edging Wales 59-50 in the closest match of the day .