Ghana’s Unilez Takyi delivered one of the best swimming performances at the 2026 Commonwealth Games but narrowly missed out on the women’s 100m freestyle semi-finals.
Takyi finished second in her heat in a personal best time of 1:00.94 on Sunday, July 28, but it was not enough to secure qualification for the next round.
Unilez Takyi will have another chance to make her mark when she competes in the women’s 50m freestyle on Tuesday, July 28, as she looks to end Ghana’s swimming campaign on a positive note.
The swim continued her steady progress in the event. She clocked 1:03.79 at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games before improving to 1:01.68 at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha. Her Glasgow time of 1:00.94 is a significant improvement and made her the first Ghanaian swimmer to break the 61-second barrier in the women’s 100m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games.
Takyi joins Ghana’s other swimmers who have exited the competition in the heats. Abeiku Gyekye Jackson narrowly missed the men’s 50m backstroke semi-finals despite setting a new national record of 26.48 seconds. Ivan Snowden also failed to advance, while Nubia Adjei finished eighth in her women’s 50m butterfly heat.
Ghana’s mixed 4x100m freestyle relay team of Snowden, Jackson, Adjei and Takyi also missed out on qualification after finishing in 3:53.60, outside the national record of 3:42.97.
So far, no Ghanaian swimmer has progressed beyond the heats at the 2026 Commonwealth Games
