Commonwealth Games 2026: Daughter Charlotte inspires Bethany Firth to bronze medal

Charlotte may be approaching her second birthday and learning how to talk, but she’s inspired her mom with these games in ways she wouldn’t have known before.

Firth was going through the motions until he was summoned to the call room to go to the finals and race, but seeing his daughter in the crowd encouraged him to put the doubt aside and do what he does best – compete.

He started well before the “talented” Sheffield man rose to gold at Tollcross Swimming Center and Maskill edged him out for second, but Firth’s smile on the podium showed that choosing to watch the race was a rewarding decision.

“I think he made me stronger, I really struggled and thought ‘is it worth going to this call room, coming in and not getting what I want?’ But I kept thinking about what I would say to Charlotte and she was cheering me on at the end of the lane,” added Firth.

“I’m so glad I went out there and did it when it was tough.”

The 30-year-old has already firmly denied those who “annoyed” her by suggesting that she would make a strong comeback and retire after the birth of a child.

Earlier this month he broke his own world record in his strongest event in the S14 100m backstroke at the Dutch National Championships in Eindhoven.

The LA Olympics in two years is a realistic goal based on recent performances, but raising her daughter has taken priority over swimming right now so it’s too early to look to 2028 as she navigates balancing the two from day to day.

“I’m taking each year as it comes, I don’t know what God has in store for me, we’re just going to take it year by year and try really hard.”