Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Begin: The Australians to Watch

King Charles has opened the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, in a ceremony that included bagpipes (naturally), the Loch Ness monster (of course), and a dig at Australia (fair enough).

Glasgow previously hosted the Games in 2014.

The Games, which were first bound for Melbourne (before the Victorian Government ruled them too expensive), will run over ten days from July 23 to August 2.  

The 2026 event is a budget version of the normal Games, with a “reduced roster” of sports, and there is also no athletes’ village.

“Athletes of the Commonwealth, welcome to Glasgow, welcome back to our city,” said Commonwealth Games Glasgow chair George Black during the July 23 Opening Ceremony.

“When the future of these Games was uncertain, Glasgow didn’t ask, ‘Can we?’ We asked, When do we get started?”

During the ceremony, Olympic pole vault champion Nina Kennedy was Australia’s flag bearer, and Paralympic gold-medallist swimmer Tim Hodge was the baton bearer.

Aussies to Watch

Few nations have dominated the Commonwealth Games like Australia, having topped the medal tally at 16 of the previous 22 Commonwealth Games, and now enters Glasgow as defending champions.

In Birmingham in 2022, Australia topped the medal tally, with 67 gold. (England was second with 58; Canada came in third with 26).

Australia’s 2026 team is also expected to bring a haul of gold, silver and bronze home from Glasgow.

Here are just some of those to watch.

All times are listed in AEST (Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane).

Swimming

Aussie viewers won’t have to stay up all night for every event, with many swimming heats beginning from around 7.30pm before finals move into the early morning hours.

Kyle Chalmers: The Olympic champ will compete in the 100m Freestyle (from 7.30pm on July 28) and the Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay.

Sydneysider Lani Pallister is the favourite for the 400m women’s freestyle. (Final: 4am, July 25)

Golden girls Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Meg Harris and Emma McKeon hold the world-record for the 4x100m women’s freestyle, and are expected to top the podium in Glasgow.

Track and Field

Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy, from Busselton, WA, won gold at the 2024 Olympics. She is the favourite for gold in Glasgow. (The event runs from July 31).

In the men’s pole vault (beginning August 1), Kurtis Marschall is jumping for his third Commonwealth gold.

Middle-distance runner Peter Bol won silver medal in the 800m in Birmingham, and is running in the same event in Glasgow (from the evening of 28 July).

Middle-distance runner Jess Hull one of Australia’s strongest medal hopes. The woman from Wollongong will compete in “The Mile” (around 1600m), an event which returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 1966. (August 1)

Reigning world champion Nicola Olyslagers is the current world champion and is expected to medal in these Games. (Begins July 28)

Gout Gout might not be in Glasgow, but sprinters Lachlan Kennedy, Eddie Nketia and Torrie Lewis, are ready for take off.

As for the discus, reigning Commonwealth champ Matt Denny looks unbeatable (the final is on August 1).

More sports

The star-studded Diamonds netball team, who won gold in Birmingham, will start their campaign this Sunday night against Tonga.

And Australian Eileen Cikamatana, who was born in Fiji, is also a favourite for a medal in weightlifting.

Outs

The two big outs of the team are Gout Gout, who pulled out of the Commonwealth Games to concentrate on the under-20 championships (and then came down with a hamstring injury).

And five-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer, Kaylee McKeowen, who has glandular fever.

“A strong start to any Games is always helpful … and our swim team is very strong,” Australian team chef de mission Petria Thomas said.

“It’s always good to have that at the start … but we’re strong across the board, in many sports.”

Paralympic events

The Glasgow Games also make history for including 47 medal events across six integrated Para sports.

Top Australian para-athletes to watch included dual gold-medallist cyclist Jess Gallagher, sprinter Rhiannon Clarke, and long jumpers Lindsey Hendy and Archie Hewett.

Event times

For Australia, the times of events vary from prime time, to unbearably early the next day.

Channel Seven will broadcast nightly coverage from 7pm, with additional live events, replays and highlights available on 7plus.

From Friday, July 24, the swimming heats begin from 7.30pm.

And from Monday, July 27, the track and field events begin, with coverage on Seven from 7pm.

Feature image: Canva Pro