The time for the Commonwealth Games is so nearly upon us.
More than 80 years have passed since the Games came to fruition but with hundreds of athletes from all around the world descending on the Gold Coast, there’s hardly a better time to keep an eye on the action. The Great Britain flag may not be flying Down Under but with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all fine-tuning preparations, here is the best of what’s to come on each day of the XXI Commonwealth Games.
England may not have long to wait to get up and running on the Gold Coast, with gold-medal winning triathlon duo Alistair and Jonny Brownlee in action on the first morning at 04:00 (all times BST). It’s Alistair who currently has the sibling bragging rights, picking up gold at both the Rio 2016 and London 2012 Olympic Games for Team GB, while also arriving in Australia with the Commonwealth title to defend. England’s Vicky Holland and Wales’ 2013 world champion Non Stanford will be out before them, however, in the women’s race, with an early chance to pick up the first medal of the Games at 00:30. The swimmers also waste little time getting going, with Glasgow 2014 medallists Aimee Willmott (England), Hannah Miley (Scotland), James Guy (England) and Ross Murdoch (Scotland) all vying for medals. The opening day will also see breaststroke’s leading man, Adam Peaty, try and make a splash across 200m, with the Rio 2016 Olympic champion looking to add to his two Commonwealth titles to date at 12:44.
But that’s not all, with Max Whitlock looking to inspire the English artistic gymnasts in the team event at 00:00 and 08:00 while Wales’ Olympic champion Elinor Barker will look to do the same in the women’s cycling team pursuit, which starts at 10:37.
is back in action on day two but the Welsh star won’t be alone in the women’s individual pursuit as teammates turned rivals
and
also bid for track glory at 10:38.
Staying on the track, it’s worth keeping an eye on England’s
, who is looking to complete a remarkable transformation which has seen him skyrocket into cycling’s elite at 11:28.
Back in the pool, Commonwealth champion
is in action once again, this time in the men’s 200m freestyle, joined by Scotland’s double Olympic medallist
at 10:56.
Before that, Ben Proud has a Commonwealth title to try and defend, heading to the pool in the men’s 50m butterfly, which gets underway at 10:37.
One of the busiest nights of the Games will see Max Whitlock and Nile Wilson in men’s all-around gymnastics action just after midnight, with the former defending his title from Glasgow. Then comes more action for the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny, at 04:01, this time looking to team up for England in their own bid for a repeat of their relay success four years ago. The cycling continues apace too, with Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker going head-to-head in the points race at 10:16 while 90 minutes later, Jack Carlin and Callum Skinner compete for Scotland in the team sprint. From the track to the mat, weightlifter Zoe Smith is among those competing in the early hours, looking for her third medal at a Commonwealth Games, having become champion four years ago. Once again, day three has plenty of pool action, with James Guy in the 200m butterfly at 10:37 while Adam Peaty and Ross Murdoch will do battle for England and Scotland in the 100m breaststroke. Scotland’s Kathleen Dawson, Chloe Tutton of Wales, and English duo Molly Renshaw and Jocelyn Ulyett will also battle for medals before the women’s 4x200m relay rounds off the day at 12:50.
A change of pace will come day four’s way as England’s
competes in the 20km walk, at 22:00 on Saturday night.
It’s hammer time for
at 05:00 as the athletics gets underway while gymnast
is back for a double dose of action in the men’s floor and pommel horse, the first of those at 05:32.
Amber Hill, who became the youngest skeet World Cup gold medallist when aged 15, fires off at 06:45, two years after finishing sixth on her Olympic debut at Rio 2016. The action continues right through the morning as lawn bowls, weightlifting, table tennis and artistic gymnastics send the Gold Coast into full swing. Then comes another Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker battle, this time in the scratch race, while Wales’ Rachel James and England’s Olympic bronze medallist Katy Marchant will be among those competing in the keirin. The swimming continues on Sunday, with Duncan Scott racing for Scotland in the 100m freestyle and Siobhan-Marie O’Connor focusing on the women’s 200m individual medley – bidding to become the first female swimmer to defend this particular title.
But it’s not just about the individuals at the Games, with
doing battle with India in the men’s hockey pool stages, seen as a potential pool decider.
There are even more Commonwealth titles to defend in gymnastics as
goes in the horizontal bar at 07:45.
Gold is also on the table for Paul Drinkhall and the men’s table tennis team with 09:32 the time for the final should they make it.
A 40-year wait for a Welsh swimming gold medal was ended by Jazz Carlin four years ago and the Olympic silver medallist is back at it in the 800m freestyle while the question on everyone’s lips is: ‘can anyone stop Adam Peaty?’ as he goes for glory in the men’s 50m breaststroke at 12:07.
And last but not least, the 100m sprinters get their moment in the spotlight,
among those bidding for silverware at 13:15.
Scotland’s
will switch her attentions from the track to the road on day six, with the women’s time trial on her mind at 05:45.
is back in action, this time across a 400m freestyle event in which she has won Olympic and Commonwealth silver, joined in the pool by
in his 50m sprint at 10:45.
There is also relay action to look out for, with
to compete in the men’s 4x100m medley.
At the same time, the athletics continues to hit its stride at 10:45 when Andrew Pozzi goes for England in the 110m hurdles, with Sophie Hitchon taking to the field for the women’s hammer an hour later. Finally, the night will begin with eyes firmly on the table tennis as 11-year-old Anna Hursey, thought to be Wales’ youngest competitor at senior level in any sport, competing in the group stage.
England’s
was within touching distance of a medal at Rio 2016 and she’ll be back on the diving platform on the Gold Coast, this time, with
her partner for the synchronised 10m platform at 12:22.
But before that, at 10:07, an Olympic champion prepares for take-off as
goes in the men’s 1m springboard, one of the two diving Commonwealth titles he picked up in Glasgow four years ago.
An aerial pursuit of a different kind also highlights day seven as
pits his wits for England in the men’s high jump at 11:05.
Double Olympian
knows what it takes to win Commonwealth shooting medals, looking to secure her sixth in the women’s 50m rifle prone at 05:00.
The Scottish medal hunt continues onto the track where multiple medallist
is in 400m hurdles action at 10:30, with England’s
looking for glory in the 200m at 12:38.
Jade Lally is also one to watch in the discus as are Shara Proctor, Jazmin Sawyers and Lorraine Ugen, the trio representing England in the long jump.
London 2012 Olympian Annie Last opens up the evening on the bike at 01:31, the Englishwoman competing in the women’s cross-country mountain bike race.
was just 16 when securing double Commonwealth gold in Delhi and the two-time Olympic medallist is back for another slice of the action, lining up with
in the men’s synchronised 10m platform, which is at 02:42.
follows in the 1m springboard at 10:07.
Meanwhile, 2018 has already provided a breakthrough for world indoor champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, with the heptathlete back for a slice of the action at 11:13. Just 20 minutes later, Scotland’s Lynsey Sharp will go for a gold in the 800m, that would see her follow in family footsteps. And midday will see Jack Laugher and Chris Mears in men’s synchronised 3m platform action, once again with their own title to defend having considered retirement post their Rio Olympic success.
Just two days remain but the action far from slows down, with the
looking to follow in Team GB’s gold-medal winning exploits from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
That’s if they make the final at 03:45, by which point the men’s cycling road race will be in full swing, with Adam Blythe and Luke Rowe among those fighting for medals. But it’s earlier in the day where the real drama could come – at 22:45 on Friday to be exact – with Olympic title-winning teammates Katie Archibald and Elinor Barker again locking horns, this time in the women’s road race. On the more even surface of the track, there is plenty to be excited about as Morgan Lake represents England in the high jump at 05:25 while Eilish McColgan, Steph Twell and Laura Weightman are among those running 5000m.
That’s not all though with the 4x400m and 4x100m relays seeing England take to the start line, looking to back up the medals secured at the past two Games.
Tom Daley is back on the board in pursuit of a third straight individual Commonwealth crown – that’s at 12:04 – in the 10m platform competition in which he became world champion again last year. Saturday also sees the boxing finals get underway with the McCormack brothers, Pat and Luke among those in the ring.
The curtain will fall on day 11 of the Commonwealth Games – but not before British competitors tackle a whole host of action.
Among them are the badminton players, bringing to an end a Games which will see the shuttlecock hit in anger every day, with Olympic bronze medallists
and
among those hoping to still be in action come the final day.
European champions
and
will also look to have their say as mixed doubles Commonwealth title-holders.
Meanwhile,
secured a clean sweep of the mixed doubles table tennis medals at Glasgow 2014, looking to back that up in the finals at 01:15, with the singles also worth watching.
The boxing finals also come to an end with
and
looking to take home honours for their respective nations.
will also be looking to be involved in the last netball matches of the Games with the three-time bronze medallists hoping to be in action at 04:02.
And the Games will come to a close on the rugby pitch as the sevens finals are played out, with
men’s side eyeing up a repeat of the silver medal performance Great Britain put in at Rio 2016.
Sportsbeat 2018