Stephen Clegg is used to things being a family affair when it comes to major sporting events.
When he made his Paralympic debut in 2016, the para-swimmer became a teammate of his elder sister and para-sprinter, Libby.
Glasgow 2026 will, once again, be a family affair for Clegg, but this time in a very different manner.
When Clegg and his sister were Paralympic teammates, there was little rivalry given they were different genders and competed in different sports. At Glasgow 2026, however, Clegg and his elder brother, James, are not only both included in Team Scotland’s para-swimming squad, but they’re swimming the same event. And so, all going to plan, they duo, who both have Paralympic silverware, will be battling each other for Commonwealth silverware at Tollcross International Swimming Centre.
If they do face each other, this will be the first time they’ve raced each other at elite level but despite the novelty of the situation, Clegg, who has a visual impairment, feels equipped to deal with the challenge of going head-to-head with a family member.
“James and I be racing each other and we could actually be in the lane next to each other, which will be fun,” says Clegg, who is based in Edinburgh and, as a student at Edinburgh University, is part of the University’s Elite Performance Programme.
“When we're getting to ready to race, though, I’ll just be treating him like any other athlete. We will just be looking at each other like every other competitor and then after the race, we'll be back to being brothers. And whoever does better, we’ll just be really happy for each other.”
The past couple of years have been far from plain sailing for Clegg.
Having won two Paralympic gold medals at Paris 2024, Clegg talked about the mental challenges he then faced in dealing with his success, as well as battling injury issues, the combination of which led to over a year out of the pool.
Read more: Laura Muir: Glasgow 2026 feels like the Olympics to me
During that stint on the sidelines, the prospect of retirement did cross Clegg’s mind, but he quickly discarded the prospect of hanging up his goggles just yet and he returned to full training at the start of 2026 with renewed motivation and, he admits, an altogether healthier mindset.
“I had some time out after Paris through injuries and different things and I've talked about how it was a difficult time and I definitely did wonder, did I want to keep going with this?,” he says
“But I felt like I wasn't finished yet.
“I feel like I've still got more there, and I don't want to retire feeling like I still have more to give. I don’t want to look back at my career and wonder if I could have done more, I want to look back thinking I gave it everything.
“Being an athlete is a big commitment but I feel like I'm getting a better swimming and life balance now, which helps.
“And I lost one of my world records recently, and I think I'm probably going to lose another one soon, and so that really drives me on.”
Clegg has already won his sport’s greatest prizes, with world titles in the S12 100m butterfly and backstroke in 2022 and 2023 preceding his Paralympic titles in the same events. But despite having won Commonwealth Games silver in 2022, he’s yet to get his hands on a Commonwealth title, which is something he’s keen to rectify this week.
However, with his greatest challengers for Commonwealth gold including Canadian, Nicolas Guy Turbide, who pipped Clegg to Commonwealth gold by just one hundredth of a second four years ago, the Scot knows that claiming his maiden Commonwealth Games title will be no easy feat.
“The Commonwealth Games will be very tough,” he says.
“The Canadian is swimming really well, and there's a young South African coming on the scene and young blood is always dangerous.
“Of course, it would be amazing to win Commonwealth Gold, and yes, it is one of the gaps in my resume. I've won what are supposed to be the two hardest ones in Paralympic and World gold but it would be an absolutely massive achievement to win Commonwealth gold in Scotland.
“Now, though, I don't tie my identity to winning a medal, which I think is a healthier way to be. These days I feel like it's more about the journey rather than the outcome.”
