Ninoda.com – McCann finished in a time of three minutes 52.65 seconds, four seconds off the pace set by Australia's Sam Short Sean McCann – the younger brother of Madeleine McCann – qualified for Saturday's 400m freestyle final at the Commonwealth Games by coming through his morning heat in Glasgow. With parents Kate and Gerry in the stands, McCann finished fourth in his heat and crept into the final as the last of the eight qualifiers at his first major championships. "I am buzzing," the 21-year-old said.
"It wasn't really an expectation coming in given how strong the field was but delighted to see I have made it." McCann, a chemical engineering student at Loughborough University where he trains, grew up in England but qualifies for Scotland through his father. McCann's parents and twin sister were in the crowd in Glasgow He was cheered on by the vocal home crowd at the Tollcross Swimming Centre. "It is amazing," he said.
"I could hear them the whole way through the race. It just spurred me on to just give it my all down that last 100m. "I wouldn't say I was nervous but I certainly felt the pressure with so many people watching.
"I wanted to do well not only for myself but for Team Scotland as well." McCann and his twin sister, who was also in the Glasgow crowd, were two years old when Madeleine, then aged three, went missing during a family holiday in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. It became one of the world's most high-profile missing-person cases and remains an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation. The final, which takes place at 19:07 BST, will include Australia's 2023 world champion and fastest qualifier Sam Short, Northern Ireland's 800m Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen and defending champion Elijah Winnington, plus James Guy and Jack McMillan, who are medal hopes for England and Northern Ireland respectively.
McCann, who has been part of the Scottish Swimming programme since his teens, will also compete in the 800m and 1500m freestyle events later in the meet. He finished third in the 800m freestyle and fourth in the 1500m at the British Championships earlier this year. McCann previously competed at the 2024 Championships, which doubled as Team GB's Olympic trials.
Speaking after his heat on Saturday, he admitted the Olympics is his ultimate goal. "The Olympics is always that step even further," he said. "Being able to represent Scotland is a good stepping stone on the way to that.
Hopefully a couple more years work I will be in the mix for the Olympics." His progression to the senior Commonwealth Games comes after representing Scotland at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. There he finished fifth in the 400m freestyle and seventh in the 1,500m freestyle. He also raced for Great Britain at the 2025 European Open Water Championships in Croatia.
