Gold Coast to host Australian National Swimming Championships in 2026, 2028 and 2030

The Gold Coast has secured a major swimming coup in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics with a trio of major national championships locked in for the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre.

The Gold Coast Aquatic Centre at Southport. Pic: Gold Coast City Council.

The Gold Coast has secured a huge swimming coup in the lead up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games with the city set to host the 2026, 2028 and 2030 Australian Swimming Championships.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the championships – which will be held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre – will provide a major boost to the city from both an economic and sporting standpoint.

Mr Tate each major swimming event would bring upwards of 15 million dollars to the Gold Coast economy.

“This is the grassroots of the pathway for Australia winning more gold (medals), especially the upcoming Commonwealth Games and then the Olympics in 2032,” he said.

“Our facility will bend over backwards to get everything that Australian swimmers need, it’s going to be the best partnership a sports team can get.”

Mr Tate was unfazed by the decision to award the 2032 Olympic swimming to Brisbane instead of the Gold Coast and was looking forward to having two elite facilities in South East Queensland.

As part of the Queensland government’s Olympic venues announcement last week, it was confirmed that Brisbane’s Centenary Pool would be upgraded to hold 25,000 people and would be the host venue for the swimming

“My push ... was more about stopping Brisbane considering the drop-in pool and a temporary pool. That, to me, was no legacy whatsoever,” he said.

“That’s why I said we’re happy to upgrade our facility with roofing and have the swimming here.

“That put the pressure on scrapping the drop-in pool which wasn’t very successful in Paris, very slow times.

“Now they’re building a state of the art aquatic centre, premier (David Crisafulli) said it will be the best in the globe, which is fantastic, it’s just up the road and it’s good for Aussie swimmers, so mission accomplished.”

The announcement cements the Gold Coast’s status as one of Australia’s swimming epicentres, with the city having hosted the event four times since 2018, including the last two years in 2023 and 2024.

Young Gold Coast swim star and World Junior Dolphin Hayley Mackinder was delighted to have such major competitions held in her backyard.

“It’s fantastic to have the championships back on the Gold Coast, my first age nationals was at this pool and I still get butterflies walking out onto pool deck every day,” she said.

“When the pool is set up for competition it is fantastic, the atmosphere walking out for a final is great, you can always hear the crowd.”

Mackinder revealed how important these championships are for young swimmers in their quest to make it to the Olympics.

“They’re pretty important, being an emerging athlete, age nationals is still a pretty big deal for me,” she said.

“But in our calendar of events it’s a great stepping stone to coming events of the season.”

Paralympic gold medallist Tom Gallagher said the Gold Coast was the perfect venue to host major swimming events.

“It’s amazing, I feel as though the Gold Coast is certainly the centre of sport in Australia, we got some of the best facilities, some of the best weather,” he said.

“If you look at the Paralympic team, the Olympic team, the open water team, I would suggest the majority of athletes are either on the Gold Coast or close to it.

“So having the events moving forward every two years certainly does make sense.”