Swimmers Impress on Commonwealth Games Debut

Robsen Dick and Léo Lebot at the Commonwealth Games

News Brief:

Further history was made at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games as Robsen Dick and Léo Lebot became the first male swimmers to compete at a Commonwealth Games. Robsen Dick was first to hit the pool, swimming in Heat 1 and Lane 5 of the men’s 50m freestyle. Proving his swim from Fiji at the recent Oceania Championships was far from a fluke, where he swam a 3 second personal best of 28.38, he further improved on that with a new personal best of 28.36, finishing 6th in his heat and 64th overall.

Commenting on his swim today, Robsen Dick said ” Words cannot express how happy I am to be at the biggest competition of my life, representing my country. The chance to be here in Scotland is something I could never have dreamed about 12 months ago. Swimming another personal best, just made it that much more special for me, especially with all the support we are receiving from back home – thank you.”

Next up, Léo Lebot became the first to graduate from a Youth Commonwealth Games, having competed in Trinidad and Tobago in 2023. Swimming in Lane 1 of Heat 3, Léo smashed his previous national record of 26.50 set in May at the Oceania Championships, swimming a 25.83 to finished 2nd in his heat and 55th overall.

When asked about his first race today, Léo Lebot said“ I was really pumped to get in the pool today and I couldn’t be happier with my time and performance. It was so nice to see all the Vanuatu team in the crowd to support me, it really spurned me on. I have been aiming to swim a 25 seconds for such a long time, then to do it at the Commonwealth Games after having made my Vanuatu debut at the Youth Commonwealth Games, is super cool.”

Léo Lebot competed alongside Pamela Mesa at the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games. Vanuatu has now debuted at all major senior games, including the Olympic Games, Pacific Games, Pacific Mini-Games and World Championships.

Vanuatu National Head Coach, Lachlan Milner added “Both Robsen and Léo were rewarded with their hard work leading into the competition and ensuring they did everything right since arriving in Glasgow, despite a short preparation. It was especially pleasing to see both sticking to their race plan and delivering personal best times, it sets them up nicely for the rest of the competition.”

The competition continues on Sunday 26th July, with Robsen Dick finishing of his campaign in the men’s 50m breaststroke before Loane Russet OLY returns to the pool in the women’s 100m freestyle. The heats begin at 10:30am local time (8:30pm in Vanuatu).

The full list of events is:

Sunday 26th July:

Monday 27th July:

Tuesday 28th July: