McEvoy sees 'red-hot runway' to Brisbane Olympics for Australia after Commonwealth domination

Australia has won 23 of the first 35 swimming events in Glasgow, putting the ‘Dolphins’ on course for their most successful Commonwealth Games campaign in the pool.Olympic champion McEvoy, who won the men’s 50 metres freestyle in 20.97 seconds on Monday, said the team’s progression boded well not only for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics but also when Brisbane plays host four years later.“Every year as a team, we go incredibly well. I think we peak every year - and then we come back the year after and we just take one step forward,” McEvoy told Australian media.“So it’s a really good spot for LA, but even better for Brisbane 2032.“Our team right now is incredible, but there’s a lot of youngsters at the national age-group level, or ones who just missed this team, who will come through in their prime by Brisbane 2032.“So the runway’s looking pretty red-hot.”The 32-year-old is aiming to defend his Olympic 50m freestyle title at Los Angeles and even swim at a sixth Olympics at Brisbane if able.He said his second 50m freestyle swim under 21 seconds had given him belief he could continue competing at the highest level. He remains the only swimmer to break the 21-second barrier in the post-’Supersuit’ era.“Knowing it’s not a one-off makes me very confident going into the future,” he said.“By the time LA comes around, it’s not so much about doing the best time, it’s about getting your hand on the wall first.“But if the ceiling is high enough, I’ll have good confidence to know that I don’t have to do a sup(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Shri Navaratnam.)