By Elise Julian
An exciting mix of proven performers and emerging talent will launch Australia’s Artistic Gymnastics campaign when competition begins on the opening day of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games at the Glasgow International Arena.
Australia’s team features five athletes in both the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG) and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) competition, where both teams have lofty ambitions to build on the nation’s strong performances at Birmingham 2022 and challenge for more medals in Glasgow.
Overview
Australia’s 10-strong Artistic Gymnastics team goes into Glasgow 2026 with a blend of decorated champions and rising stars, ready to compete across five days of competition in some of the most anticipated events on the programme.
The WAG team is led by one of Australia’s most accomplished gymnasts, Georgia Godwin (NSW), who returns after a sensational Birmingham 2022 campaign where she won two gold and three silver medals, adding to her impressive Commonwealth Games medal collection from Gold Coast 2018.
Joining Godwin are experienced teammates Emily Whitehead (VIC), a dual Commonwealth Games medallist across 2018 and 2022, Breanna Scott (VIC), a Birmingham 2022 team silver medallist, and Kate McDonald (VIC), who claimed both gold and silver in Birmingham. Completing the team is Paris Olympian Ruby Pass (QLD), who will make her Commonwealth Games debut as one of Australia’s brightest young talents.
After finishing just behind England to claim team silver in Birmingham by the narrowest of margins, the Australian women will be aiming to climb one step higher on the podium in Glasgow.
In the MAG team, Birmingham 2022 representative Jesse Moore (SA) returns to anchor the team, joined by Commonwealth Games debutants Benjamin Foster (NSW), Tru Hagens (NSW), James Hardy (QLD) and Ritam Malik (NSW).
The Australian men enter Glasgow with unfinished business after agonisingly missing the team bronze medal in Birmingham by just 0.650 points. With a talented new-look squad, they’ll be determined to turn that near miss into a place on the podium.
Ones to Watch
Australia
Already one of Australia’s most decorated artistic gymnasts, Georgia Godwin returns for what will be her third Commonwealth Games after overcoming a ruptured Achilles that threatened to end her career ahead of Paris 2024. An eight-time Commonwealth Games medallist, Godwin arrives in Glasgow with the opportunity to further cement her legacy as one of Australia’s greatest ever gymnasts. With multiple apparatus titles and all-around medals already to her name, she’ll once again be among Australia’s biggest medal hopes.
Jesse Moore enters Glasgow in outstanding form after securing his third consecutive Australian Senior All-Around title with a personal best score of 84.283. He also recently earned one of gymnastics’ highest honours when the International Gymnastics Federation officially recognised his original pommel horse skill, the ‘Moore’, last year. With momentum on his side, Moore will be aiming to convert his strong form into Commonwealth Games success.
International
Reigning Olympic champion and two-time world champion on pommel horse Rhys McClenaghan (Northern Ireland) returns to the Commonwealth Games looking to reclaim the title he won at Gold Coast 2018. After taking silver at Birmingham 2022 and overcoming a period on the sidelines through injury, the 26-year-old will once again be one of the favourites on his signature apparatus.
One of Canada’s most celebrated gymnasts, four-time Olympian Ellie Black returns for her third Commonwealth Games after managing injury setbacks. A multiple Commonwealth Games medallist and perennial all-around contender, Black’s experience and consistency make her one of the standout athletes to watch in Glasgow.
Sport Format
A total of 14 gold medals will be awarded in Artistic Gymnastics at Glasgow 2026 across team, all-around and apparatus events.
Competition is divided into three phases:
- Qualification / Team Final
- Individual All-Around Final
- Apparatus Finals
Individual Qualification / Team Final
The opening competition serves two purposes, acting as both the qualification round for individual events and the team final.
Each nation fields a team of five gymnasts. On each apparatus, four athletes compete and the best three scores count towards the team total (known as the 5-4-3 format). While some gymnasts compete across every apparatus, others may specialise in just one or two events.
The qualification scores also determine who progresses to the individual finals:
- Individual All-Around Final: Top 18 gymnasts, with a maximum of two athletes per nation.
- Apparatus Finals: Top eight gymnasts on each apparatus, with a maximum of two athletes per nation.
Nations competing with fewer than three gymnasts perform in mixed groups and are not eligible for the team competition.
Individual All-Around Final
The top 18 gymnasts from qualification (maximum two per nation) advance to the all-around final.
Men compete across all six apparatus in the following order:
- Floor
- Pommel Horse
- Rings
- Vault
- Parallel Bars
- Horizontal Bar
Women compete across four apparatus in this order:
- Vault
- Uneven Bars
- Balance Beam
- Floor Exercise
The gymnast with the highest combined score across all apparatus is crowned the all-around champion.
Apparatus Finals
The top eight qualifiers on each apparatus (maximum two per nation) contest the apparatus finals.
Separate medals are awarded on each apparatus:
- Men: Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar.
- Women: Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam and Floor Exercise.
Each gymnast performs one routine in the final, except on vault where two vaults are performed and the average score determines the final result.
Scoring
Every routine is assessed by a panel of judges. Eight judges plus a supervisor evaluate each routine during the qualification phase and individual all-around finals, while nine judges plus a supervisor officiate the apparatus finals.
The judges are divided into separate Difficulty (D) and Execution (E) panels, with penalties deducted where applicable.
The final score is calculated using the following formula:
Final Score = Difficulty + Execution − Penalties
The Difficulty Score has no upper limit and rewards the complexity and value of the skills performed.
The Execution Score starts from 10.000, with deductions applied for technical errors, form breaks, balance checks and landings.
Neutral deductions, such as stepping out of bounds or exceeding time limits, are then subtracted from the total.
The scoring system rewards both ambition and precision. Gymnasts need routines with a high level of difficulty but must also execute them cleanly to challenge for medals.
Competition Schedule
Gymnastics events will take place from Friday 24 July to Tuesday 28 July 2026 at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and Glasgow Arena.
Fast Facts
- Artistic Gymnastics made its Commonwealth Games debut at Edmonton in 1978. It did not reappear until 12 years later in Auckland and has been held at every Games since.
- England will be looking to retain their top of-the-table ranking for the fourth consecutive Games. They overtook Australia as the most successful Commonwealth Games artistic gymnastics nation in Birmingham.
- Australia and England are the only two nations to have won gold in every gymnastics event contested in Glasgow. Canada has won gold in every event bar the men’s pommel horse, in which they have won silver once and bronze four times.
- Australian gymnasts have been remarkably successful, topping the sport’s medal tally on multiple occasions – most recently at Delhi 2010 – and having claimed more than 150 medals.
