Glasgow 2026 drew to a close after 11 days of enthralling action as a slimmed down schedule still produced moments of magic.
Held in many of the same venues that had been used 12 years ago when the city last hosted the Commonwealth Games, medals were on offer in 10 sports with a host of Team GB athletes making an impact.
And at the midway point in the Olympic cycle, two years on from Paris with as many to go until LA 28, this was the perfect opportunity for athletes experienced and otherwise to remind us of their talents.
Here are some of the standout moments of the Games:
Kerr brings the house down in the mile
If these Commonwealth Games belonged to one athlete, it would be hard to look past Josh Kerr, the hometown hero arriving fresh from breaking an iconic world record.
Officially the fastest runner of the mile in history, he came to Glasgow looking to prove that he was a Championship racer, as well as a world record holder.
And while the men’s mile was run at a much slower pace, with an elite field feeling each other out, there was only ever going to be one winner.
Making his move on the final 200m, Kerr streaked clear of the field to win at a canter, with the Scotstoun faithful going crazy as the Proclaimers provided the soundtrack to victory.
Kerr said: "This means everything. It was the championship of my season, it was the one I'd circled on the calendar," said Kerr.
"It doesn't get any better than this. It was absolutely incredible. To do it in front of a Scottish crowd where I learned how to race is so special. I came here week after week growing up as a kid."
Campbell goes back to back in weightlifting
Emily Campbell has won medals at each of the last two Olympic Games, and she now has a pair of Commonwealth titles to go with them.
Four years after her triumph in Birmingham, Campbell came out on top once again, winning gold in the +86kg weightlifting with a Games record total of 278kg.
The 32-year-old appeared on stage with Team England decorations in her hair, a nod to the competition's importance in her journey.
It was in Gold Coast eight years ago that she won bronze, her first senior international medal, and now with Olympic silver and bronze to her name, she believes these Commonwealth experiences have been crucial to her success.
She said: "In 2018, I really started believing in myself and realised I could do this. Without those Games, I don't think I'd have achieved what I have now. Whenever I represent my flag, I do it with pride."
Sawyers upgrades to gold 12 years later
There were other memorable moments on the track, notably Georgia Hunter Bell’s emphatic triumph over 800m, two years on from her Olympic bronze over 1500m in Paris.
But for pure emotion, it is hard to look past Jazmin Sawyers, who won the long jump in Scotstoun, 12 years after winning silver in the same event in Glasgow.
Her journey in the years since has been packed with highs and lows, most heartbreakingly when she was ruled out of Paris 24 with an Achilles rupture.
It has been a long path back, and while Sawyers was the first to admit that her build-up had not been ideal, she came up trumps with a leap of 6.93m to take a magical gold.
She said: “Twelve years ago almost to the day, I won a silver here in Glasgow (2014 Commonwealth Games) at my first major championships. It was a shock silver and I've held Glasgow close to my heart ever since.”
Finucane is queen of the velodrome
In a velodrome named after one of the greatest sprinters ever to ride on two wheels, Emma Finucane wrote her own name into the record books over the course of four days.
The Welsh sprinter, who claimed Olympic gold in the team sprint in Paris, came away from Glasgow with four golds over the course of four days.
She kicked things off by playing a starring role as Wales won the team sprint, before adding individual sprint and 1000m time trial golds.
And she rounded it off on the final day by defeating Olympic champion Ellesse Andrews to take the keirin at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, becoming the first sprint cyclist to win four track golds at the same Games.
Finucane was also the first Welsh woman to win four golds at a single edition of the Commonwealth Games, while the good news for Team GB came from the home nations monopolising the podium in both the women’s team sprint and individual sprint.
On the men’s side, 19-year-old Henry Hobbs announced himself to the cycling world with a crucial role in the men’s team pursuit success – downing the Australians in the final despite trailing in qualifying.
And the teenager followed that up with a mature scratch race victory, avoiding a nasty crash to take victory in a breakthrough Games.
Nowacki makes history for Jersey
Duncan Scott got the ball rolling for the host nation in the men’s 200m individual medley, and Angharad Evans starred for Team Scotland by sweeping the 100m and 200m breaststroke titles.
But the standout moment in the pool came from 18-year-old Filip Nowacki, who won Jersey’s first Commonwealth gold medal in 36 years.
The talented breaststroker had already won silver in the men’s 100m breaststroke, ahead of his mentor Adam Ramsay-Peaty, but it was in the longer 200m that the expectations were highest.
He showed no signs of nerves as he powered to victory, with former world record holder and reigning champion Zac Stubblety-Cook having to settle for bronze.
With two years to go until LA for him to accelerate his development, Nowacki will be eyeing an Olympic medal to go with this Commonwealth triumph.
Ruby leads gymnastics sweep
The gymnastics did not produce the same medal haul as Birmingham 2022, when Jake Jarman and Joe Fraser were unstoppable.
But there were some standout moments along the way, including a first-ever men’s all-around title for a Scottish gymnast as Reuben Ward made history.
Luke Whitehouse lived up to his billing as the king of the floor, but the moment we have picked out is the women’s floor event.
Ruby Evans had been left disappointed at her fifth-placed finish in the all-around competition, and the pressure was on in the final apparatus as she searched for a first medal of the Games.
Last up, she did not let it affect her as she claimed victory with a stunning routine, completing a podium dominated by home gymnasts as the Team Wales star was joined by English pair Abi Martin and Shantae-Eve Amankwaah.
Path to LA starts for boxers
With 10 medals in the ring, including four golds, it was a very successful Games for English boxers, while the Welsh and Scots provided a further seven medals.
Damar Thomas finished the gold rush in style, beating India’s Narender Berwal in the super heavyweight final, completing an eventful run to gold.
Thomas won his opening bout after opponent Aziz Abdul was disqualified for a headbutt, before his semi-final opponent withdrew.
But in the final, he produced a dominant display against Berwal, to follow in the footsteps of Delicious Orie, Frazer Clarke and Joe Joyce, all of whom had won this title.
All three went onto represent Team GB at the Olympics so the path to LA is set for Thomas.
Golds that could ignite Olympic ambitions
Boxing was not the only combat sport where the home nations shone, as the judo provided no shortage of medals.
Among them were four golds for Team England judoka, with Ethan Nairne’s 73kg triumph coming the day after older sister Lele had won 57kg bronze.
Kelly Peterson Pollard upgraded her Birmingham bronze to Glasgow gold in the women’s 70kg category, defeating Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown along the way. Yeats-Brown responded by winning bronze, with the Paris 2024 Olympian then announcing her retirement from the sport after winning a hat-trick of Commonwealth medals.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 3x3 basketball, there was success for England for the second Games running, Jamell Anderson the one man to feature on both teams.
This triumph against Australia went down to the wire, but will boost the confidence of 3x3 basketball team as they aim for a first Olympic appearance in LA.
Sportsbeat 2026