Greenbank has, however, come to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on a mission to win one medal missing from his collection.

"I've never won an individual Commonwealth Games medal, so that's a massive aim and a really big motivator for me," he said.

The 28-year-old knows what it takes to win at this level. One year after claiming silver in the 4x100m Men's Medley Relay and bronze in the 200m Backstroke at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, he helped England win the 4x100m Medley Relay at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. He has also bagged an impressive haul of medals at European and world championships.

Making his third appearance at a Commonwealth Games, Greenbank believes he now has the experience and maturity to earn the individual podium finish that's eluded him.

"At Gold Coast (2018), I was kind of a newbie and didn't know what to expect," he said. "At Birmingham, I put too much pressure on myself and didn't get the performances that I wanted, but I feel really confident coming into these Games.

"I'm a little bit more experienced as an athlete, have a bit more of a cool head and hopefully that leads to some good results.

"I'm in really good shape and will hopefully come back with a few medals. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself but I just want to get out there and compete."

Brodie Paul Williams and Luke Greenbank of Team England react after competing in the Men's 200m Backstroke Final on day five of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Photography Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Friendly rivalry

Based in Cumbria, in North West England, the 200m Backstroke specialist didn't have to travel too far to compete at Glasgow's Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

"It's probably closer to home here than it was in Birmingham," he said.

"It will be good to have friends and family in the crowd. Mum and dad are coming up and my fiancée, Anna (Olympic swimming gold medallist Anna Hopkin), so I’m really excited to hopefully put on a good show for them."

Despite having won a dozen or so major international medals for Great Britain, he does not expect a lot of cheers from Scottish spectators in the stands.

"It's always funny to compete between the home nations at the Commonwealth Games. You are competing against the people who you're usually teammates with," Greenbank said.

"But it's a friendly rivalry and I'm sure England and Scotland, along with the Welsh, will push each other.
Luke Greenbank

"Then you've got the Aussies as well, so it's a very high level competition, which is great for the sport."

England's Opening Ceremony baton bearer believes staying calm is key to his chances of achieving success.

"I just need to keep a cool head, stick to the race plan and trust the training," he said.

"Training has been going really well recently. And I can't let anything really get into my head. All the hard work is done, this is just the last little bit.

"Some people like to get hyped up and 'I'm ready to go' but I like to just have one or two things to focus on going into my race - just technical or tactical points - and let the training carry me."

Beyond chasing that elusive individual medal, Greenbank has the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games on his mind. He is also still missing an Olympic gold medal.

"LA is obviously the big focus. It'll come around quickly but we've obviously got the Commonwealth Games and Europeans this year, and then the worlds next year," he said.

"There are plenty of opportunities to race fast and every one of those will be a good strong stepping stone into LA."

For the full schedule and results for Swimming and Para Swimming, click here.