Welsh athletes are intensifying their preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with several hopefuls expressing strong ambitions for gold. A team of 127 Welsh athletes is anticipated to be officially named later this month, ready to compete across 10 sports. The upcoming Games mark the 23rd iteration of the event, adopting a leaner format compared to the 20 sports featured in Birmingham four years ago.
Among those with their sights firmly set on the top step of the podium is double Olympic champion swimmer Matt Richards. Despite an impressive medal haul that includes Olympic golds from Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, along with multiple World and European titles, Richards is still pursuing a Commonwealth gold. He reflected on his previous Commonwealth Games experience in 2022, stating, "Commonwealths in 2022 didn't go the way I'd hoped. I wasn't performing as well as I'd have liked to that year. It's that one that's really gotten away and it happens to be one that's the only opportunity I get to do, racing for Wales." Richards, who secured two golds and a silver at the recent British Championships, is determined to "put on that Welsh dragon, get out there and bring back some gold."
Gymnast Ruby Evans, a 19-year-old sensation, is poised to make her Commonwealth Games debut. Evans has enjoyed a stellar 12 months, including winning a silver medal in the floor exercise at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Indonesia in October 2025. More recently, in March this year, she became the first Welsh athlete in over 50 years to clinch the all-around title at the British Championships in Liverpool. Having been just three months too young to compete in Birmingham 2022, Evans shared her excitement: "I've always wanted to do something for Wales because everything's always Great Britain, which is obviously amazing, but I think just competing for my home country will be such a special feeling."
Para-athlete Funmi Oduwaiye, a former Wales Under-18s basketball player, is also looking forward to her first Commonwealth Games appearance. Having taken up para-athletics in 2022, Oduwaiye quickly made her mark, debuting at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris in 2023 and winning a bronze in the F44 shot put in New Delhi in October 2025. The 23-year-old plans to compete in both her preferred throwing events – F64 discus and F64 shot put – in Scotland. She expressed her anticipation, saying, "I'm looking forward to competing and representing my smaller nation of Wales rather than the whole of Great Britain."
Boxer Owain Harris-Allan, who secured a bantamweight bronze at just 18 years old in Birmingham 2022, is aiming higher this time. "It was all a bit of a flash," he recalled of his unexpected medal four years ago. After narrowly missing out on qualification for Team GB at the Paris Olympics two years ago, Harris-Allan is now focused on the Commonwealth Games, with a clear objective: "Gold is the minimum I'll be taking this time." The collective ambition and recent successes of these athletes underscore a strong drive within Team Wales to achieve significant results in Glasgow.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will feature a core programme of sports including athletics and Para-athletics, swimming and Para-swimming, artistic gymnastics, track cycling and Para-track cycling, netball, weightlifting and Para-powerlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and Para-bowls, and 3x3 basketball and 3x3 wheelchair basketball.
Source: BBC Sport