Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games athletics guide: key events, stars and dates
We select some of the potential highlights to look out for in coming days in Scotland.
The Commonwealth Games were never supposed to look like this. Victoria, Australia, was awarded the 2026 Games back in 2022, only to pull out in 2023 as its projected hosting costs ballooned from an estimated £1.2 billion towards £4 billion — a withdrawal that eventually cost the state around £199 million in compensation.
Glasgow, which had staged a hugely popular Games in 2014, stepped in as a late replacement host, offering a deliberately scaled-back, condensed edition built around venues the city already had rather than new ones built for the occasion. That is why the athletics programme finds itself at Scotstoun Stadium rather than a newly constructed national stadium — a smaller, more intimate venue that should still generate a memorable atmosphere across the 10 days of competition.
It also means a change in coverage. For the first time since 1954, the BBC will not be the home of the Commonwealth Games in the UK, with TNT Sports having agreed a deal to broadcast extensive live coverage, streamed via HBO Max, while free-to-air broadcaster Channel 5 shows nightly highlights throughout the Games.
The athletics timetable can be found here.
Below, we select just some of the potential highlights to look out for in the athletics at Scotstoun.
The women's 800m is going through a fascinating period and the action promises to be of the highest quality in Glasgow, too. Keely Hodgkinson won't be in Glasgow but her training partner Georgia Hunter Bell will be, and she faces a mouthwatering rematch with world champion Lilian Odira. The Kenyan took gold in Tokyo last summer, just ahead of Hunter Bell and Hodgkinson.
"I haven't done the Commonwealth Games before, so it's definitely a bucket list championships for me," says Hunter Bell. "I feel like all the greats have medalled or won the Commonwealth Games, so it's absolutely something I want to be a part of. It feels like a home Games, even though I'll be representing England. When I did the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in 2024, that was a bit of a taste of what the support might be like, and definitely makes you run faster. It's very special."
When? The women's 800m final takes place on July 31.
Pakistan versus India is a match-up normally at its most intense on the cricket pitch and, though there is a somewhat friendlier rivalry, the exploits of Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra have brought that national battle to the men's javelin.
Pakistan star Nadeem is the defending Commonwealth and reigning Olympic champion, as well as the Asian record-holder with 92.97m. Chopra, meanwhile, became one of India's most famous sportspeople following his own Olympic win in 2021. The standard of competition in Glasgow looks set to be fierce, however. Sri Lanka's Rumesh Pathirage (92.62m) came close to Nadeem's record recently, while two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and reigning world champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago — Commonwealth gold medallist at Glasgow 2014 — could also be in the mix.
When? The men's javelin final takes place on July 31.
Special things tend to happen when the Commonwealth 10,000m takes place in the UK, and the women's final looks set to get the ball rolling on opening night at Scotstoun Stadium. Eilish McColgan, who so famously struck gold four years ago, has had injury problems this year but the Scot will be roared on by the home crowd, as will her team-mate Megan Keith. Remarkably, Kenya have not had a gold medallist in the event for 12 years, and their charge will be led by Diana Wanza and Miriam Chebet.
When? The women's 10,000m final takes place on July 27.
Canada's Ethan Katzberg, the reigning Olympic and world champion, is in prime position to take gold here, but this will be a hugely memorable, and emotional, competition for Scotland's Chris Bennett. The Olympian also competed at Glasgow 2014 but retired from competition in 2023. He decided to return to the sport and qualified to compete again in his home city, setting up what he says will be the "perfect ending" to his career.
When? The men's hammer final takes place on July 27.
Daley Thompson won three Commonwealth decathlon titles during his spectacular career, but no woman has completed that same feat when it comes to the heptathlon. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who took gold at the Gold Coast Games in 2018 and again in Birmingham in 2022, had been chasing exactly that record — only to withdraw from the Games through injury on the eve of the opening ceremony, choosing instead to prioritise her fitness for next month's European Championships in Birmingham.
Her withdrawal reshapes the entire competition. Northern Ireland's Kate O'Connor, the world silver medallist and runner-up to Johnson-Thompson in Birmingham four years ago, now goes into Glasgow as the clear favourite. England's replacement, Niamh Emerson, arrives with a remarkable story of her own: the 2018 Commonwealth bronze medallist and world U20 champion endured years of injury before finally completing her first heptathlon in eight years this April, and a strong showing in Glasgow would cap a genuine comeback. Birmingham bronze medallist Jade O'Dowda completes a competitive field chasing the title in Johnson-Thompson's absence.
When? The women's heptathlon competition gets under way on July 28.
Scotland's Laura Muir and Australia's Jessica Hull are more used to meeting each other in the middle-distance events, but this time they will come face to face over 12 and a half laps. Hull, who is also tackling the Mile, will have high expectations of winning a first Commonwealth medal, while reigning 1500m champion Muir will be aiming to make the most of home advantage. British champion Hannah Nuttall and European U20 champion Innes Fitzgerald will be in the thick of the action for Team England.
When? The women's 5000m final takes place on July 30.
Australia's Matthew Denny and England's Lawrence Okoye are training partners, but each will be looking to secure bragging rights in the men's discus competition. Okoye is the British record-holder and improved his national mark earlier this year, while Denny is the defending champion. The home spectators will also be able to get behind Scotland's Nick Percy, who is competing at his third Commonwealth Games.
When? The men's discus final takes place on August 1.
The women's 400m loses one of its headline names after Amber Anning, who has Olympic, world and European medals to her name, was among the raft of withdrawals confirmed on the eve of the Games. That leaves the door open in a still-strong England contingent: Yemi Mary John will have high hopes of a first major individual medal, while their British relay team-mate Nicole Yeargin can call on Scottish support as she looks to add an individual medal to her relay pedigree.
When? The women's 400m final takes place on August 1.
World champion Faith Cherotich is part of a strong Kenyan team heading to Glasgow, and the Olympic bronze medallist looks like being the one to beat. But this will be an excellent test for England's Elise Thorner, one of the fastest women's steeplechasers in Europe this year and also with the continental championships in mind later this summer, as well as Scotland's Sarah Tait.
When? The 3000m steeplechase final takes place on July 29.
Just a few months ago, Wales' Adele Nicoll was hurtling down the ice in Milan Cortina, making history by becoming the first British female to compete in the monobob at a Winter Olympics. She is also a four-time British shot put champion and will be competing at her second Commonwealth Games. This will be no easy task, however, with the likes of Canada's two-time world indoor champion Sarah Mitton defending her title.
When? The women's shot put final takes place on July 29.
Australia are sending a strong athletics team to Glasgow and their contingent will be a force to be reckoned with in the women's high jump. Not only will world champion Nicola Olyslagers, also world indoor champion in Glasgow in 2024, be returning, but so too will Eleanor Patterson, who also has a history of coming out on top in the city, having been Commonwealth champion in 2014. England's Morgan Lake, a bronze medallist in 2018 and just outside of the medals in 2022, would love to add to her tally here, too.
When? The women's high jump final takes place on July 28.
Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala is returning to defend his title, but won't have it all his own way against a field that features Australia's Lachlan Kennedy, who is going for a 100m/200m sprint double, and Eddie Nketia, who ran a wind-assisted time of 9.74 earlier this year. Paris Olympic finalist Louie Hinchliffe will be making his Commonwealth debut with England.
When? The men's 100m final takes place on July 28.
England's line-up has been reshaped by a wave of late withdrawals, with Daryll Neita among those to pull out on the eve of the Games; the team will instead be led by world 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt, who was recovering from serious injury during the Games four years ago and has taken great strides forward over the shorter distance in 2026, alongside training partner Imani Lansiquot.
When? The women's 100m final takes place on July 28.
READ MORE: Commonwealth conundrum
One of the most enduring images of the Birmingham 2022 Games was Olivia Breen's celebration after winning T37/38 gold, beating England's then reigning Paralympic and Commonwealth champion to the title. Both are back for a rematch in Glasgow. Who will come out on top this time?
When? The heats and final of the women's T37/38 100m are on July 27.
Up-to-date entries can be found here.
