Ghanaian swimmer Harry Stacey has etched his name into the nation’s sporting history books after delivering a stunning performance at the World Aquatics World Cup in Westmont, Illinois, setting a new national record in the men’s 50m freestyle event.
The 18-year-old clocked an impressive 21.88 seconds during the second leg of the prestigious international competition held from October 17 to 19, 2025, marking both a new Ghanaian record and a personal best that signals his emergence as one of West Africa’s most promising aquatic talents.
Competing against a highly competitive international field at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, a suburb of Chicago, Stacey shaved precious milliseconds off his previous marks while representing Ghana on one of swimming’s most demanding short-course circuits. The World Cup series, featuring 25-meter pool racing, attracts elite swimmers from across the globe looking to build momentum during the short-course season.
Westmont represented the second stop on the 2025 World Cup tour, which kicked off in Carmel, Indiana, between October 10 and 12 before moving to Illinois. The series concludes in Toronto, Canada, from October 23 to 25, marking the first time since 1988 that the competition has returned to North America with multiple stops across the United States and Canada.
The achievement caps off a remarkable 12-month period for Stacey, who continues building on momentum established at earlier international competitions. He previously earned recognition as Best Male Senior Swimmer at the 2025 Africa Aquatics Zone 2 Championships held in Accra earlier this month, where he collected six medals, five of them gold, in dominant performances that showcased his versatility across multiple freestyle and butterfly events.
Born on September 29, 2006, Stacey officially joined Team Ghana before the 2023 African Games in Accra, though his connection to the country runs deeper through family roots. The Scottish-born swimmer swam impressive times in the 100m and 50m freestyle finals at the Borteyman Aquatic Center during those Games, narrowly missing the podium but announcing his potential on the continental stage.
His breakthrough came at the 16th Africa Aquatics Swimming and Open Water Championships in Luanda, Angola, in April 2024, where he reached the final of the men’s 100m freestyle. After clocking 51.26 seconds in preliminary heats to secure third place, he improved to 50.67 seconds in the final, earning bronze and securing his first-ever medal for Ghana.
That performance helped him earn one of Ghana’s wildcard entries to the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he competed in the 100m freestyle event alongside compatriot Joselle Mensah. Although he didn’t advance from the heats in Paris, the Olympic experience provided invaluable exposure to elite-level competition that’s clearly paying dividends now.
“To finally reach the pinnacle of swimming is surreal,” Stacey told reporters following his Olympic qualification last year. He credited his family, trainers, and the Ghana Swimming Association for supporting his journey from learning basic strokes to competing at the world’s highest levels.
More recently, at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore held from July 27 to August 3, Stacey clocked 23.05 seconds to finish eighth in Heat 8 of the 50m freestyle and recorded 51.43 seconds to place tenth in Heat 7 of the 100m freestyle. While those times didn’t advance him to semi-finals, they demonstrated consistent progress and competitive endurance across multiple elite meets.
The 21.88-second clocking in Westmont represents significant improvement from those Singapore performances, suggesting Stacey has found another gear in the short-course format. Swimming in 25-meter pools versus long-course 50-meter pools requires different tactical approaches, with more frequent turns providing opportunities for swimmers with strong underwater skills to maximize their speed.
Stacey’s rise reflects broader growth in Ghanaian swimming. The Ghana Swimming Association, led by President Delphina Quaye and General Secretary Muniru Kassim, has invested in developing talent and providing international exposure for promising swimmers. The country hosted the 2024 and 2025 editions of the Africa Aquatics Zone 2 Championships at the Borteyman Sports Complex, raising the sport’s profile domestically.
Ghana’s swimming contingent has expanded beyond just Stacey. National team captain Abeku Jackson remains the country’s most decorated swimmer with multiple international medals, while Joselle Mensah recently set two new national records in the women’s 50m and 100m freestyle at the Singapore World Championships. Nubia Adjei holds Ghana’s national record in the 100m women’s backstroke, creating a core group pushing each other to higher levels.
The World Cup circuit provides crucial competition experience between major championship cycles. Unlike World Championships or Olympics, the World Cup series consists of multiple meets within weeks, testing swimmers’ ability to maintain peak performance while managing travel fatigue and quick turnarounds between competitions.
For Stacey, the Westmont performance validates his decision to represent Ghana despite being born and initially trained in Scotland. He swam for Thames Christian School and competed at regional levels in the UK before officially committing to Ghana ahead of the 2023 African Games.
The timing of his breakthrough couldn’t be better. With the 2026 Commonwealth Games approaching and Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on the horizon, Stacey has positioned himself as a genuine medal contender at continental championships and a competitive presence at global meets. Each performance builds confidence and experience that should translate into stronger showings when championship seasons arrive.
Whether he can maintain this trajectory through the Toronto stop of the World Cup remains to be seen. The final leg of the series typically features the strongest fields as swimmers who skipped earlier stops join the circuit for the prestigious finale. Competition will be fierce, with Olympic champions and world record holders seeking to cap off successful World Cup campaigns.
For now, though, this moment belongs to Harry Stacey and Ghana. His 21.88-second national record stands as proof that with proper support, training, and competitive opportunities, Ghanaian swimmers can compete at world-class levels. It’s a record that won’t last forever, someone will eventually break it, but the significance of achieving it at just 18 years old suggests Stacey himself might be the one to lower it further in years to come.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
