Sean McCann to Compete for Scotland at Commonwealth Games

Sean McCann at the Tollcross Swimming Centre

Journey to the Tollcross Swimming Centre and the Commonwealth Pool

Competing at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games represents a massive milestone for Sean McCann, who enters the pool in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle events. The 21-year-old – a Loughborough University student – qualifies to compete for Scotland through his father, Gerry. Tomorrow, an athlete will realise a lifelong dream. Sean McCann is due to compete in the heats of the Commonwealth Games swimming 400m freestyle in Glasgow’s Tollcross International Swimming Centre, the first major step on a journey that he hopes will end at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in Praia da Luz

The Commonwealths is a multi-sport competition held every four years between member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and their territories. Sean McCann was only two years old when his sister Madeleine disappeared from a hotel in Portugal in 2007, a case that has captivated and troubled the world for nearly two decades. Madeleine was three at the time, and sleeping in the apartment with Sean and his twin sister, Amelie, while their parents ate at a nearby restaurant in Praia da Luz, a resort on the western Algarve coast. Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, led a high-profile search for their daughter, while London’s Metropolitan Police opened Operation Grange in 2011 and continues to work with authorities in Portugal and Germany to try and find her. Almost two decades later, she remains missing.

“I’m very excited. It’s my first senior Games so I’m just looking forward to representing Scotland and doing my absolute best,” McCann told Loughborough University earlier this week, external. “It’s the pinnacle really of representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games, especially at a home Games. I’ve got lots of family up in Glasgow so that makes it even more special. I was there in 2014 [at the Commonwealth Games], watching as a kid, so to make it now, 12 years later, is really a full-circle moment.”

Sean McCann, Swimmer

Loughborough Town Swimming Club and the British Summer Championships

Training Discipline and Elite Mentality

Sean has largely maintained a private stance regarding his sister’s abduction, preserving the family’s distress and dignity. He was last seen publicly with his parents—Kate and Gerry McCann—at a vigil held in May to commemorate the 19th anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance. Sean hated swimming at first, but he conquered his fear of the pool aged eight before joining a local triathlon club. His talent was immediately evident and he went on to train at Loughborough Town Swimming Club, further honing his skills. It wasn’t long before he started competing, securing a seventh-placed finish in the under-17 400m freestyle at the British Summer Championships in 2022. A year later, he represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Youth Games, where he secured a fifth-place finish in the 400m freestyle, showcased his potential as he competes for a spot in the Great Britain swimming team for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. This ambition is further fueled by his eligibility to represent Scotland through his father, Gerry McCann. He shares this sporting spirit with his twin sister, Amelie, who is also a competitive swimmer and triathlete, although she has not yet made her mark on the national squad.

Kate and Gerry McCann supporting swimming meets

He has received unconditional support from his parents, Kate and Gerry, in spite of the hardships faced by his family in the years since Madeleine’s disappearance. The couple regularly attend swimming meets to cheer on their son, who has a twin sister named Amelie, and are said to be ‘enthusiastic’ about his sporting endeavours. As Glasgow hosts the competition, Sean approaches the weekend’s heats ready to test his limits.