The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games officially opens a week from today in Glasgow, Scotland, where some 3,000 athletes from 74 countries and territories associated with the old British Empire will compete in 10 different sports over the course of 11 days.
Canada is sending a team of 149 athletes and is aiming for another top-three spot in the medal standings after finishing behind Australia and host England at the 2022 Games in Birmingham.
These Games were in danger of cancellation after the Australian state of Victoria bailed on hosting due to escalating costs. But Scotland stepped in with an offer to stage a scaled-down event with far fewer sports — diving, beach volleyball, rugby sevens, wrestling and others were axed — while making use of pre-existing venues in order to keep the budget down.
Swimming and track and field are still the marquee sports. They’re joined by gymnastics, 3-on-3 basketball, boxing, weightlifting, track cycling, judo, lawn bowling and netball — the only sport Canada is not involved in.
The Commonwealth Games also remain the only multi-sport event in which Para and able-bodied competitions are held concurrently. Canada is sending 34 Para athletes — its largest number ever.
A few more things to know:
Swimming: Liendo, Masse borrow the spotlight
Unfortunately for Canadian fans, Summer McIntosh is not participating in these Games. The 19-year-old superstar, who broke the long-standing women’s 200-metre butterfly world record at the Canadian trials in Montreal last week, will instead compete at next month’s Pan Pacific championships in California as she eyes a run at a record-tying five gold medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Veteran Taylor Ruck, who won all five of her events at the trials, also opted for the Pan Pacs.
However, Canada will still have a pretty strong swimming team in Scotland, led by 23-year-old sprinter Josh Liendo and 30-year-old backstroke specialist Kylie Masse.
Liendo won gold in the men’s 100m butterfly and bronze in the 50m freestyle at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, then went on to take Olympic silver in the 100 fly in 2024 in Paris. He also owns three individual world-championship medals and recently wrapped up a highly decorated collegiate career at the University of Florida.
Masse has won five Olympic medals, trailing only Penny Oleksiak (seven) for the most ever by a Canadian swimmer, and four of them have come in individual events. Her five solo medals at the world championships include three golds — two in the 100m backstroke, one in the 50.
Other Canadians to watch in the pool include 18-year-old Oliver Dawson, who swept the three men’s breaststroke events at the Canadian trials; and reigning Paralympic champions Danielle Dorris and Sebastian Massabie. Massabie won the men’s 50m freestyle S4 category in 2024, while Dorris has captured back-to-back Paralympic golds and three straight world titles in the women’s 50m butterfly S7.
Track and field: De Grasse and friends go for gold
Reigning Olympic men’s 4x100m champions Andre De Grasse, Jerome Blake, Aaron Brown and Brendon Rodney will try for their first Commonwealth Games title together.
The quartet followed up their stunning victory at the 2024 Olympics in Paris by taking silver (behind the U.S.) at last year’s world championship in Tokyo. In May, their hopes of reaching the podium at the World Relays for the third straight year were dashed when Blake pulled up with a hamstring injury during the second leg of the final. However, the team did accomplish its goal of qualifying for the 2027 world championships by winning its first-round heat with the fastest overall time.
De Grasse, 31, returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 2014, when he was still a college student. He’ll compete in the relay only, while Brown and Rodney also race the 200 and Blake does the 100.
Reigning Olympic and world hammer throw champions Camryn Rogers and Ethan Katzberg are the other headliners on the Canadian track and field team. Rogers will go for her second straight Commonwealth gold while Katzberg tries to upgrade from his silver in 2022.
The Canadian squad also includes 2021 Olympic decathlon champion Damian Warner, 2021 Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Moh Ahmed, reigning race walk world champion Evan Dunfee and reigning 400m indoor world champ Christopher Morales Williams. On the women’s side, there’s two-time indoor world shot put champion Sarah Mitton and national record holders Savannah Sutherland (400m hurdles), Audrey Leduc (200m) and Sade McCreath, who broke Leduc’s 100m record last week in Edmonton.
Also, the mile is back on the Commonwealth program for the first time in 60 years, replacing the 1,500m for able-bodied athletes. Canada, which hosted the legendary “Miracle Mile” showdown between England’s Roger Bannister and Australia’s John Landy at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, will have three athletes in both the men’s and women’s races.
Other Canadians to watch
Among the eight Olympic gold medallists on Canada’s Commonwealth team, the only non-track-and-field athlete is weightlifter Maude Charron. She won gold in the women’s 64-kilogram division at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics before taking silver at 59kg two years ago in Paris. Charron will try for her third straight Commonwealth title in the heavier class.
In gymnastics, 16-year-old Lia-Monica Fontaine makes her Commonwealth debut after earning silver in the vault at last year’s world championships, where she was Canada’s only medallist. Four-time Olympian Ellie Black returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 2018, when the three-time world championship medallist won a pair of golds (in the all-around and team events) and added a silver in the vault.
While Canada does not have a team in the able-bodied 3×3 basketball events, its men’s and women’s wheelchair squads swept the gold medals at the inaugural world championships last year. Kady Dandeneau, who led Canada to the women’s gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was named tournament MVP at the worlds.
How to watch
CBC Sports’ comprehensive daily coverage of the Commonwealth Games begins with the opening ceremony on Thursday, July 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET on the CBC TV network and CBC Gem. Starting the following day, you can stream live action in a variety of sports on Gem and watch additional daily coverage on CBC TV.
For the latest news, results and video and full streaming and broadcast schedules, visit CBC Sports’ Commonwealth Games site.
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