Australian swimmer Meg Harris joins Comm Games elite with amazing gold medal haul

The 24-year-old’s name is now alongside Australia’s finest and she admits she’s ‘pretty cooked’.

Ian Chadband, AAP
7NEWS Sport
Meg Harris wins gold in the women's 50 metres freestyle final, with Australian teammates claiming multiple medals.

Swim star Meg Harris has capped her breakthrough week by joining the elite of Commonwealth Games athletes who have annexed six gold medals in a single edition.

The Victorian-born, Mackay-raised 24-year-old, who’s splashed out of the shadows of some of her more garlanded peers in Glasgow, capped a spectacular week with a double-gold finale on the last day of the Tollcross pool program on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Meg Harris claims gold as Shayna Jack bows out with bronze

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Having outpaced an admittedly under-par superstar Mollie O’Callaghan to win the blue riband 100m free, Harris completed the sprint double in the 50m, pipping teammates Alex Perkins and the departing Shayna Jack, before anchoring the victorious 4x100m medley relay quartet.

It left her the toast of her teammates, after Harris discovered that she had joined Australian swimming royalty, who had all won a record six golds in a single Games.

A beaming Meg Harris on the podium with a tearful Shayna Jack and Meg Harris.
A beaming Meg Harris on the podium with a tearful Shayna Jack and Meg Harris. Credit: Getty

Susie O’Neill (Kuala Lumpur 1998), Ian Thorpe (Manchester 2002) and Emma McKeon (Birmingham 2022) were all joined by Canadian swimmer Graham Smith (Edmonton 1978) and his gymnast compatriot Alexandra Orlando (Melbourne 2006), in the six-gold club.

No one’s ever won more in one Commonwealth Games.

The Game NRL 2026

“I mean, definitely pretty special. Most of the golds were in relays, so I wouldn’t have been here without a team effort,” said Harris.

“I don’t think I came here specifically with a goal in mind, but I definitely knew what I wanted to achieve personally and I think I exceeded my expectations.

“But pretty proud of how the week’s gone. I’m pretty cooked by the end of it, but I managed to lift with these girls at the end.”

Sam Short, who had a pretty spectacular week himself with three individual golds in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle as well as a 4x200m relay win, was left awed by Harris’s performance.

“I’m not surprised,” said Short, who’s part of the same elite training squad with her in Brisbane.

“Meg’s a beast in training. She’s just trying to get better, and better and better.

“We push each other every day, hold each other to a very high standard. I’ve seen her do even more impressive stuff in training, so she deserves everything she’s getting.”

Both Harris and Short were among the week’s big Aussie earners, who cashed in on the bonus money being handed out by billionaire benefactor Gina Rinehart.

Lani Pallister’s haul of $80,000 for her three individual golds, a silver and a relay triumph, made her the biggest winner of the week financially amid the $1,272,500 jackpot that will be paid to the medal winners over the next few days.

Originally published on 7NEWS Sport

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