Key events

46m ago🥇 Mark Swan (England) captures gold in men's lightweight para powerlifting
5h agoPreamble

Gymnastics: Rhys McClenaghan’s floor routine features a pair of slips near the close. His prospects for reaching the floor final hang in the balance somewhat - a mark of 12.350 places him fifth in the current standings. The 2024 Olympic pommel horse champion aimed to take part in another event final here.

His Northern Irish colleague Eamon Montgomery, fifth in the floor final back in 2022, concludes with a double-twist, double-back somersault and sticks the landing. He records a mark of 13.000.

3x3 Basketball: New Zealand’s men have powered to a 21-3 triumph over Guyana in Pool A, recovering from their initial loss to Australia earlier today. New Zealand’s basketball squad goes by the name the Tall Blacks, which proves quite appealing.

Canada, Australia and England held firm control over 3x3 basketball at the 2022 Games - all four events, including the wheelchair divisions, concluded with those three countries on the podium.

Additional events in progress include the bowls - England meets Tonga in the women’s pairs - and the women’s lightweight para powerlifting - England’s Olivia Broome competes in Group A later.

The sixth and final rotation of the second subdivision of the men’s gymnastics team final continues as well. Northern Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan is set to perform on the floor.

3x3 basketball: The afternoon session has begun with Australia’s women securing two wins from two today via a 21-13 result against Jamaica - the 2022 bronze medallists also defeated Kenya 21-5 in Pool A this morning.

England’s national anthem, Jerusalem, sounds as Mark Swan stands atop the podium with the first gold medal of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, presented by the Duke of Edinburgh. All three medallists also receive a plush unicorn toy, naturally.

Scotland’s Finlay Davidson performed solidly to finish fifth from Group B.

Men’s lightweight para powerlifting: Final standings

Gold: Mark Swan (England) 153.9pts (222kg top lift)
Silver: Roland Ezeruike (Nigeria) 153.9 (185kg)
Bronze: Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (Malaysia) 153.5 (220kg)
4th: Ashok (India) 143.8 (200kg)

🥇 Mark Swan (England) wins gold in men's lightweight para powerlifting

Following silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2024 Olympics, gold arrives for England’s Mark Swan! He misses on his world-record bid of 232kg yet does not realise he has still taken gold! His coach delivers the update and his grin returns.

The strong favourite Gustin had targeted 230kg and could not quite return it to bar height. He chooses not to challenge and accepts bronze. Nigeria’s Ezeruike takes silver.

Para powerlifting: Nigeria’s Ezeruike’s arms shake as he tries and misses at 190kg - his gold medal chances end. India’s Ashok also comes up short on his final attempt. The contest sits between England’s Swan and Malaysia’s Gustin for the first gold of the Games. Swan prepares to chase the world record …

Para powerlifting: Bonnie Bunyau Gustin of Malaysia, the defending Commonwealth champion and world record holder, raises 220kg to enter silver medal position on points.

England’s Mark Swan, silver medallist in 2022, moves into provisional gold with an impressive lift of 222kg - grand piano levels of weight!

Para powerlifting: Those points scores factor in the weight lifted and the athletes’ body weights. Nigeria’s Roland Ezuruike leads after the first round following his lift of 178kg - he weighs roughly 20kg less than Swan and Gustin.

Thanks Taha. Scotland’s Finlay Davidson established the standard in Group B of the men’s lightweight para powerlifting with a score of 141.4pts, via a best lift of 166kg.

He drops out of medal contention after Group A begins. Malaysia’s Bonnie Bunyau Gustin has just raised 210kg on his opening attempt - that exceeds the average adult gorilla. England’s Mark Swan goes heavier with a 112kg first lift. Each athlete receives three lifts and a total points score.

My first shift concludes - it is time to pass to Billy Munday. He will track the para powerlifting, where the first medals of these Games will be awarded.

A fine piece by Yara from earlier in the week:

While indications of an international sporting event appear - lamppost banners, purple merchandise and the occasional volunteer - the strongest soundtrack stems from the steady hum of construction machinery.

Para powerlifting: Quite notable to witness Cameroon’s Belinga Manga lifting 145kg at the age of 56 in the men’s lightweight event.

3x3 basketball: Scotland and Guyana feature in the men’s competition … and it requires some time for the first score, nearly a minute. Here are the rules if new to this format: the first side to 21 points claims the win. If no side reaches 21 after 10 minutes, it goes to the side in front. There are 12 seconds on the shot clock as the game proceeds at pace on a half court.

Artistic gymnastics: Rhys McClenaghan, the defending Olympic pommel horse champion, performs. But how does that achievement compare when you have also won Dancing With the Stars? He underwent shoulder surgery last year yet he moves smoothly on the horse without issue. And he rises to the top of the leaderboard with a score of 14.5.

Swimming: You may relax: the lane line has been secured. Ramsay-Peaty holds the lead at the halfway mark and he controls the race with a time of 59.46, the quickest of all the heats in the men’s 100m breaststroke.

Swimming: ‘COMPETITION DELAYED’: it appears on the screen, the loose lane line causing issues. It must prove quite frustrating for the swimmers ready to start their 100m breaststroke heat.

Swimming: Adam Ramsay-Peaty, with four Commonwealth golds to his credit - his first earned at Glasgow 2014 - competes in the men’s 100m breaststroke heats. A delay hits the action though - a lane line has come loose, requiring a swimmer to enter the water and assist the officials.

Para powerlifting: I would welcome some prizes shortly: the first medal event of the Games arrives in para powerlifting, with the men’s lightweight final beginning at 1.10pm BST.

Boxing: England’s Lauren Mackie, in the women’s 54kg, advances to the round of 16 with a unanimous win against Kenya’s Amina Faki. DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win plays around the ring.

This report has drawn attention, courtesy of Reuters:

Australian swimmers at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will receive up to A$50,000 ($35,000) for individual gold medals achieved in world record times under an incentive scheme backed by Gina Rinehart, the nation’s wealthiest individual.

Swimmers in individual events will gain A$20,000 for gold, A$15,000 for silver and A$10,000 for bronze, while relay swimmers will receive between A$2,500 and A$5,000 for reaching the medal podium.

Swimmers setting a world record will earn an A$30,000 bonus.

With Australia the leading swimming nation by far in the Commonwealth, many of the team’s top athletes will likely benefit at Glasgow.

“These bonuses represent a way of Australia expressing gratitude and demonstrating the appreciation our athletes merit for bringing our country such a sense of pride and achievement,” mining billionaire Rinehart stated in a Swimming WA release on Friday.

“There is something truly uplifting about seeing an Australian athlete stand on the podium while our flag is raised. Such exciting times make Australians proud and merit celebration.” Reuters

Swimming: Scott takes his heat with a time of 1:58.81, narrowly ahead of his teammates Evan Jones and Matthew Ward. Jones - who secured two bronze relay medals in 2022 - will join Scott in the final.

Swimming: Attention turns to Scotland’s Duncan Scott in the men’s 200m individual medley heats. He holds eight Olympic medals, 13 in the Commonwealth Games - including three golds. And now he has the opportunity to excel at home.

Swimming: Goggles ready - they have entered the pool. First comes the women’s 400m freestyle heats. Ariarne Titmus - the Australian star who retired last year - earned gold four years ago in the final.

3x3 basketball: It is an Australian display at present. They lead against Kenya in the women’s event, winning 21-5. Australia took bronze back in 2022.

3x3 basketball: Australia finished as runners-up in the men’s 3x3 basketball four years ago - they have just begun their 2026 campaign with a 21-15 victory against New Zealand.

Artistic gymnastics: Action starts in the men’s artistic gymnastics, with a team medal available today.

As Yara El-Shaboury notes, Rhys McClenaghan - who will appear in the afternoon - stands out as one to follow.

Artistic gymnastics may last only five days, yet it features one of the strongest fields at the Games. The reigning Olympic champion, Rhys McClenaghan, leads the competition as the Northern Irishman seeks to regain the pommel horse title he won in 2018 after earning silver in Birmingham four years ago. He returns from injury alongside several established names, including Australia’s Georgia Godwin and Canada’s four-time Olympian Ellie Black, both also returning after injury. Scotland’s young squad, led by Reuben Ward, will hope home support can spark a surprise.

Here is how the opening ceremony unfolded (KT Tunstall delivers quality).

Preamble

After a football World Cup that risks growing ever larger, here arrives something moving in the opposite direction. This is, as you have likely heard, the scaled-back Commonwealth Games, with Glasgow stepping in after Victoria withdrew. There are no new lavish stadiums, only 10 sports and missing stars such as Keely Hodgkinson. Yet Phil Batty, the chief executive of Glasgow 2026, offers another perspective. “This will be a Games that stands shoulder to shoulder with previous Games,” he told Sean Ingle. “It was an event in jeopardy that needed to reinvent and adapt itself for the future. We have developed a format of the event that is flexible, relevant and integrated with para-sport.”

Well it is time to observe: today brings medal events in para powerlifting, artistic gymnastics and swimming. I will monitor everything but this is a team effort - share your thoughts and anything I have overlooked. There is plenty to explore.