Para Champion spreads his wings in bid to secure Games' spot

The skies have cleared for Tom Gallagher (pictured), Alexa Leary and their Dolphin teammates to shine at Australia’s first ever stand-alone World Para Series event on the Gold Coast this Friday 20 February through to Sunday.

With final Glasgow qualification on the line for Australian athletes, a stacked field of more than 150 athletes from around the world and the unpredictable nature of outdoor racing, the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre will serve as an important stepping stone towards this year’s Commonwealth Games and on the road to the LA 2028 Paralympics.

Former Gold Coast local Gallagher has already stamped his mark in the S10 men’s freestyle and backstroke sprint events with multiple medals across the strokes achieved on the world stage.

But the S10 50m freestyle Paralympic champion has turned his focus to mastering the butterfly in a final bid to secure selection for Glasgow.

For Gallagher, the men’s 100m butterfly was the only event on the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games program in his S10 classification. He will face stiff competition this weekend from Col Pearse – the 2025 world championships bronze medallist – as well as from Australia’s S10 freestyle sprint king Rowan Crothers, who is also chasing Glasgow qualification.

“It’s an opportunity to race, to learn something new and I’m finding elements of the fly is really helping my freestyle,” Gallagher said.

“I’ve just returned from a two week (St Peters Western) training camp in Thailand where I had the opportunity to train alongside Lizzy (Dekkers) which was cool … especially because she’s a world championship medallist and I’ve only just started doing butterfly three months ago.

“I’m really enjoying doing a different training for now and it’s helping my back end. It’s looking positive and I’m quite excited to race on Saturday.

Swimming Australia’s Paralympic Program Head Coach Mel Tantrum expects new names to emerge with Australia’s next wave of para athletes diving in alongside champion Dolphins like Gallagher and Leary.

“This weekend’s racing is going to be really tough,” Tantrum said.

“We have a number of athletes who are returning from racing at the Paris Paralympics and last year’s World Championships in Singapore. So, not only will we have a strong contingent of experienced athletes racing but this is also an opportunity for our young guns to step up,” Tantrum said.

Gold Coast Acting Mayor Councillor Mark Hammel said: “This is the first year of a multi-year agreement that will see this international event hosted right here in our city for the next few years … a brilliant outcome for all involved.”

“Our city has got a key legacy outcome as part of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and that is legacy that before and after the Games we will do everything we can as a city to support what a truly inclusive city looks like.”

Delivering a multi-million boost to the local economy, the World Para Series signalled the start of a bumper year for swimming on the Gold Coast with national-level racing to return to Southport in April for the Australian Open and Age Championships.

The Gold Coast meet marks the first of nine stops on the global World Para Series calendar. Watch the action live on 9Now – racing starts 9.30am AEST with finals from 5.30pm AEST.