Cameron McEvoy's Glasgow Return: From 'Kid' to Father, Hunting First Individual Commonwealth Gold

When Cameron McEvoy travelled to Glasgow in 2014, he was a 19-year-old "kid".

Twelve years later, he returns to the site of his Commonwealth Games debut as a completely different man with a completely different outlook on a sport that is almost unrecognisable.

McEvoy emerged as part of the ill-fated batch of sprint stars at the 2012 Olympics — the so-called "weapons of mass destruction" who returned from London without a gold medal from any male swimmer.

Two years later, McEvoy won six medals, including two relay golds, at the Commonwealth Games despite still trying to find his place in the squad.

"I still felt like a new person on the team back in 2014," he told reporters at Glasgow airport on Wednesday morning (AEST).

"I was super shy; I wasn't really outspoken. I'm in the same sport but the way I'm conducting training on a day-to-day basis, the way being on the team feels now compared to as a rookie, almost feels like it's a new sport.

"It's going to be almost nostalgic being back at the Tollcross pool, seeing the set-up and going through the same thing I did as a teenager."

As he and the Dolphins touched down in the Scottish capital once again, McEvoy is a brand new man and one of only two Australian swimmers, along with Lakeisha Patterson, back for another go.

"A lot has changed," he said.

"I was basically a kid [in 2014], and now I've got my own kid. Things are very different now.

"There's actually a member on the swim team who's 14 [Mia Hogan], so she was only two when I was back here competing last time.

"A lot has happened; basically, my entire international career has unfolded."

McEvoy missed out on individual medals at his first three Olympic Games and is surprisingly still hunting his first individual Commonwealth gold.

At Glasgow 2014 he finished second in the 50m, 100m and 200m. At his home Games on the Gold Coast in 2018, the pain was amplified when he picked up bronze in the 50m but missed the medals in the 100m despite entering as the Commonwealth record holder and fastest qualifier for the final.

McEvoy struggled to bounce back from those setbacks, particularly at Rio 2016 and Gold Coast 2018, to the point that when the last Commonwealth Games were on, he was at home considering his future in the sport.

He said he was "in the wilderness", unsure if he wanted to continue swimming after so many painful disappointments, but teammate Elijah Winnington's mental resilience got him back in the pool.

"Elijah had just won the 400m freestyle world title on the back of falling short in Tokyo [2021 Olympics]. For me, I saw that as a massive inspiration," he said.

"I fell short in Rio and couldn't bounce back that following year, but seeing Elijah go from Tokyo seventh in the 400m final to world champion, that was definitely a factor in motivating me to want to take that next step and come back."

ABC Sport will be live blogging every day of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.