This summer in Glasgow the Commonwealth Games will take centre stage, with athletes world over flocking to the west coast of Scotland, in search of writing their names into Commonwealth history. However, the latest iteration of the Games will see athletes competing with all types of motivating factors.
For Faye Rogers, Glasgow 2026 will provide her with an opportunity to represent Scotland, and those that have supported her throughout her life. Whilst showing the world over that having a disability hasn’t changed what is possible.
Coming into the year, the focus was on rounding into form for Glasgow, and due to the Commonwealth Games’s qualification system, working off of rankings, everyone knew where they stood. However, qualifying wasn’t enough, all athletes needed to be selected, and with Faye qualifying for both Scotland and England, she had a decision to make.
Choosing to represent Team Scotland, and wear the thistle with pride, Faye commented: “It just felt right, my Dad’s family are all Scottish, and my Dad was very keen about me being Scottish. But, I live in Scotland, I train in Scotland, and all my team mates represent Scotland. It just felt like that was the team I identified with more.”
“My entire para journey has taken place in Scotland, I did grow up swimming in England, but I was living in Scotland when I got classified and, that whole journey has taken place here, and that might have contributed, honestly it just felt like the right decision.”
With the 2026 edition of the Games being based in Glasgow, all of Team Scotland’s athletes have an opportunity to compete in front of family, friends, and anyone who has supported them throughout their journey, something that Faye is excited about “The opportunity to race in Glasgow is really cool, with it being a home Games, they can all come and watch, and that is really special.”
At the 2024 Paris Summer Paralympic Games, Faye won S10 100m Butterfly gold, going on to announce herself on the world stage, something that she looks back on with an immense amount of pride. However, her favorite moment as an athlete came in 2025, and, it wasn’t about the silverware, it was about what it taught her “Actually for me my career highlight was trials in 2025, the British Swimming Championships, the 200m butterfly, which isn’t even a Paralympic event, and it was the first time that I had swam faster than I had done before my accident. I beat my able bodied PB (personal best) for that event, that was just huge for me, just to prove to myself I guess. I could acquire an impairment, and yes – I had to work so much harder – but I could swim faster than I ever did without an impairment, and that is pretty cool, that was huge for me.”
All of her achievements, including those in 2025, reminds Faye of the hard conversations that took place in 2021, following a car crash that she was involved in. Which resulted in considerable damage to her right arm “There was a time when I was told I would never be able to swim competitively again, certainly not at the level I was at, and I’ve proved that wrong. Not only am I swimming at a considerably higher level than I was, but I am actually doing it faster than I was.”
So far in 2026, Faye has hit the ground running, competing in the 2026 Para Swimming World Series, Berlin, where she delivered several world-class performances, breaking the European Record in the S10 100m Butterfly, and British Record in the S10 100m Freestyle, making her the first female British swimmer to finish under one minute in her classification (S10).
Boyed by her recent results, Faye is excited for Glasgow, feeling like the home crowd element of the upcoming Games will provide her with more confidence, she said: “The home crowd advantage is going to be crazy, I think, I raced French athletes in Paris, and just imagine if that crowd is cheering for you.”
“I’m really going to try and use it as fuel, rather than pressure, because at the end of the day, everyone is there because they want to see you do well.”
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