Commonwealth Games: All you need to know about Glasgow events

By Grant Chapman of RNZ

Glasgow Commonwealth Games July 24-August 3 (NZT)

Regardless of how you feel about New Zealand’s relationship with the British sovereignty, the Commonwealth Games remain an important part of our sporting landscape.

The latest edition will begin this week at Glasgow, spread over 10 sports and 10 days.

While the Games are often regarded as a second-rate festival, especially compared with the Olympics, some events will still feature some of the best competitors in the world.

The Olympics are undoubtedly the pinnacle for most sports, but the Commonwealth Games fill a crucial role in an athlete’s high-performance pathway, often acting as a more realistic stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Here’s what you need to know about the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Sir John Walker chases Tanzanian Filbert Bayi to a world 1500m record at Christchurch 1974. Photo / Tony Duffy, Allsport

History

The Commonwealth Games are scheduled every four years between Olympics, bringing together the nations traditionally under British rule.

The event began in 1930 as the British Empire Games, changed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1950 and changed again to the British Commonwealth Games in 1966.

Since 1978, the multi-sport festival has been known as the Commonwealth Games, also referred to as the “Friendly Games”.

The Games grew out of the 1911 Inter-Empire Championship, contested by Australasia, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom to celebrate the coronation of George V.

The first British Empire Games were staged at Hamilton, Ontario and attended by 11 countries, with 400 athletes across athletics, boxing, bowls, rowing, swimming, diving and wrestling. Women competed only in aquatic events.

Only six countries have attended every Commonwealth Games – New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England, Scotland and Wales – and only the first four have won gold medals at each.

An aerial view of the opening ceremony of the IV British Empire Games at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, February 4, 1950. Photo / Getty Images

Nine countries have hosted the Games, with Australia (5), Canada (4), New Zealand (3), England (3) and Scotland (3) doing so more than once.

Auckland and Edinburgh have staged the event twice, while Glasgow will join them in 2026.

Australia has won the most gold medals, topping 1000 at Birmingham 2022, followed by England (773), Canada (510), India (203) and New Zealand (179).

Glasgow 2026

The Games have landed in the Scottish city of Glasgow for the second time in just 12 years, through a comedy of errors and indecision.

Hosting rights for 2022 were originally awarded to Durban, South Africa, but when it was stripped of those rights, due to financial concerns, Birmingham moved its bid ahead four years, leaving 2026 vacant.

Initially, the Australian state of Victoria accepted that responsibility and intended to spread sports across its territory, instead of concentrated on one city. Twelve months late, the state government got cold feet, citing cost escalations, and cancelled the Games.

Several other options were explored, including London, Gold Coast, Malaysia, Singapore and Accra (Ghana), but ultimately, Glasgow took on the hosting role, reusing many of the venues from the 2014 Games.

Glasgow Commonwealth Games medals will feature braille. Photo / Getty Images

Four years ago, the Birmingham Games featured 20 sports across 15 venues, but Glasgow will feature a cut-back programme, consisting of just 10 sports.

Many of those dropped were disciplines where New Zealand had historically succeeded, including rugby sevens, hockey, triathlon, road cycling, cricket and squash.

Surviving sports will also undergo some notable changes – bowls will be contested indoors for the first time, while the men’s and women’s 1500m will revert back to the mile, 60 years after the imperial distance was last raced at the Games.

All 74 Commonwealth nations are expected to attend, with African nations Gabon and Togo making their debuts. Australia and England will field the biggest teams (264), with hosts Scotland (173), Canada (149), India (124), New Zealand (114), Wales (114) and South Africa (112) sending more than 100 athletes.

The Glasgow opening ceremony is scheduled for 6am Friday, July 24 (NZT) at the OVO Hydro indoor arena, headlined by Scottish singer/songwriter K.T. Tunstall, and the programme will run until Monday, August 3.

In New Zealand, events can be viewed on Sky Sport or free to air on Three.

NZ at Commonwealth Games

New Zealand is one of only nine nations to attend every edition of the Games and one of only six to win gold medals at each.

New Zealand athletes have claimed 706 medals over the 23 instalments, consisting of 179 gold, 232 silver and 296 bronze. The country ranks fourth in total medals and fifth in gold.

Athletics has been our most successful sport, producing 142 medals and 39 gold, ahead of cycling (131/35) and swimming (94/24).

Shooter Greg Yelavich claimed 12 medals across six Games from 1986-2010, while thrower Val Young won five gold medals in shot put and discus, more than any other Kiwi.

New Zealand's Aaron Gate celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the men's 160km road race at the Commonwealth Games.

New Zealand’s most successful event in terms of medals is the men’s cycling road race, which has produced four gold, nine silver and four bronze. The men’s 1500m/mile has yielded three gold, four silver and five bronze.

Women’s shot put and cycling individual pursuit, and men’s rugby sevens, have produced five gold medals each.

New Zealand has hosted the Games three times – Auckland 1950, Christchurch 1974 and Auckland 1990, and our biggest medal haul came at Auckland 1990, when we claimed 58 medals and 17 gold.

New Zealand at Glasgow

New Zealand’s team of 114 named for Glasgow 2026 consists of 21 athletes, 19 cyclists, 13 swimmers, 12 bowlers, eight judokas, seven boxers, weightlifters and gymnasts, and teams of netball and men’s and women’s 3x3 basketball.

This New Zealand team are the smallest since Brisbane 1982, when we sent 112, and less than half the size of the team who attended Birmingham 2022.

The Glasgow team feature 44 athletes who competed at Birmingham four years ago. Chef de mission Nigel Avery is a former Commonwealth Games weightlifting champion.

Medal contenders in each sport include:

Athletics

Geordie Beamish – reigning world steeplechase champion and former world indoor 1500m champion

Anna Grimaldi – three-time Paralympic gold medallist in long jump and 200m

Imogen Ayris – 2022 pole vault bronze medallist and world indoor bronze medallist

Hamish Kerr – reigning Olympic, world, world indoor and Commonwealth Games high jump champion

Hamish Kerr celebrates his world high jump title. Photo / Photosport

Eliza McCartney – former Olympic pole vault bronze medallist, world indoor and Commonwealth Games silver medallist

Ethan Olivier – reigning world junior triple jump champion

Tom Walsh – twice Commonwealth Games shot put champion, former world champion and four-time world indoor champion

Jacko Gill (right) took gold from Tom Walsh (left) at the 2011 Under-19 New Zealand Track and Field Championships. Gill is injured and won't be competing in Glasgow, but Walsh will. Photo / Photosport

3x3 Basketball

Men (Josh Book, Te Tuhi Lewis, Christian Martin, Aidan Tonge) – reigning Asia Cup champions

Track cycling

Ellesse Andrews – defending Commonwealth Games sprint, team sprint and keirin champion, reigning Olympic sprint and keirin champion

Devon Briggs – two-time world para-cycling time trial and scratch race champion

Devon Briggs celebrates at the 2024 UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships. Photo / Marco Antonio Teixeira / CBC

Tom Sexton – reigning Commonwealth Games team pursuit champion, 2022 individual pursuit silver medallist

Bryony Botha – former world omnium and elimination race champion, 2024 Olympic team pursuit silver medallist and omnium bronze medallist

Bryony Botha will be on the track for New Zealand. Photo / @bryony_botha

Emily Shearman – Olympic, Commonwealth Games and world team pursuit silver medallist

Judo

Kody Andrews – 2022 Commonwealth Games +100kg silver medallist

Moira de Villiers – eight-time Oceania champion, 2022 Commonwealth Games 78kg bronze medallist, 2014 Glasgow 70kg silver medallist

Moira de Villiers is an eight-time Oceania champion judoka. Photo / NZME

Sydnee Andrews – 2022 Commonwealth Games +78kg bronze medallist

Bowls

Shannon McIlroy – former world singles and team champion

New Zealand triples second bowler Shannon McIlroy in action during a match against Brunei. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Ali Forsyth – three-time world fours and team champion

Mark Noble – two-time Commonwealth Games parasport triples silver medallist

Tayla Bruce – former world singles and team champion, 2022 Commonwealth Games fours and triples bronze medallist

Katelyn Inch – former world team champion, 2022 Commonwealth Games pairs bronze medallist

Selina Goddard – former world team champion, three-time Commonwealth Games bronze medallist

Netball

Silver Ferns – two-time Commonwealth Games champions, three-time silver medallists and 2022 bronze medallists, five-time world champions

Swimming

Lewis Clareburt captured double gold at Birmingham. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Lewis Clareburt – defending Commonwealth Games 200m butterfly and 400m medley champion, former world 400m medley champion

Erika Fairweather – former world 400m freestyle champion, 200m freestyle silver medallist

Cameron Gray – 2022 Commonwealth Games 50m butterfly bronze medallist

Josh Willmer – reigning Commonwealth Games para-swimming 100m breaststroke champion

Weightlifting

David Liti – former Commonwealth Games +105kg champion, 2022 +109kg silver medallist, four-time Oceania champion.

David Liti took weightlifting silver at the Birmingham. Photo / Photosport

This story was first published on rnz.co.nz