Archie Goodburn fell short of medaling at the 2026 Commonwealth Games — but the Scottish swimmer continues to be an undeniable inspiration to many.
Goodburn, 25, was diagnosed with oligodendroglioma, a rare type of brain cancer, three years ago. His condition is inoperable and doctors told him he might not live to see his 40s.
The athlete has continued competing in the wake of his diagnosis, representing his country at the games and reaching the final in the 50m breaststroke. He finished joint seventh, or as he put it “joint last,” but a disappointing conclusion didn’t skew the athlete’s perspective.
“I was really trying to soak it up, because I didn’t feel like I really got much of a chance to do that after the semi,” Goodburn told BBC Sport Scotland. “And the experience was everything I dreamed of and more. But the time, unfortunately, wasn’t there.”
He added, “I was thinking today — the goal was to make the final, and the dream was to win a medal. That dream didn’t come true, but one of my other dreams is that we see a future where brain cancer isn’t the biggest killer of patients under 40.”
Goodburn received his diagnosis while he was preparing to make a run at the 2024 Paris Olympics. His training had suffered from a series of unexplained symptoms, including seizures, numbness in his left side and, oddly, déja-vu. He soon learned he had three “low grade” tumors that could not be removed because of how they had spread in his brain.
Though Goodburn fell short of his dream at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, he’s still, surprisingly, in the best swimming condition of his life. In February, he broke Scotland’s record in the 50m with a time of 27.12 seconds.
“He’s almost the beating heart of the team, the way that he kind of operates and goes about his daily business,” teammate Duncan Scott told The Scotsman. “I think it’s fair to say everyone on the team, and I’d imagine elsewhere, draws inspiration from what he does and what he’s going through and showing how proactive he is with it as well. He’s a real inspiration.”
Goldburn said that in addition to swimming, he is working on advocating for those battling similar conditions.
“I advocate to try and extend my own life, but also for the other young patients and adults going through what I’m going through,” he said. “With everything that’s going on with my health, it’s been difficult to think ‘why am I here? Am I here to advocate as a patient advocate, or am I here to just be a professional athlete?’ And it’s kind of turned into a bit of both.”
