By Lachie Moorhouse

The biggest names in Australian athletics have arrived in Glasgow with a point to prove and every intention of building on the nation’s rich legacy, selecting a full-strength contingent of 86 athletes across the Athletics and Para Athletics program.

Scotstoun Stadium will set the scene for what looms for a history-making campaign, as many of the nation’s premier athletes touchdown in career-best form, ready to etch their name into Commonwealth Games folklore.

Ones to Watch

Australia

On a star-studded roster, it is hard to look past two mouthwatering mile races featuring 20-year-old wunderkid Cameron Myers and defending champion Oliver Hoare for the men, while Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull and Birmingham bronze medallist Abbey Caldwell lead the charge for the women.

An Australian sprinting boom is being led by sub-10 second man Lachlan Kennedy and national record holder Torrie Lewis who are both slated to contest the 100m and 200m events, where Kennedy will be joined by a giant debutant in the form of Edward Osei-Nketia who is taking 2026 by storm with the fastest all-conditions time in Australian history.

A star-studded lineup of Para Athletics stars will take to the track led by Rhiannon Clarke (T38) in the sprints and wheelchair racer Eliza Ault-Connell (T54) who makes her fourth Commonwealth Games appearance, while new names Ullrich Muller (T38) and Nathan Jason (T12) are poised to make their mark in Glasgow.

Australia’s race walkers will be led by defending champion Jemima Montag and rising star Isaac Beacroft when they take on 25 laps of the track for the 10,000m race walk, both sitting in the top 20 performers of all time in the discipline.

International

Freshly minted world record holder Josh Kerr (SCO) will relish his home crowd in the Men’s Mile, where he will compete alongside former world champion Jake Wightman (SCO) and the Kenyan duo of Timothy Cheruiyot and Reynold Cheruiyot. 

Headlining the sprints will be Ackeem Blake (JAM), Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN) and Kayinsola Ajayi (NGR) for the men, while the women’s lineup is spearheaded by Adaejah Hodge (IVB), Amy Hunt (ENG) and Zoe Hobbs (NZL).

In the middle-distance ranks, 800m runner Georgia Hunter Bell (ENG) is the biggest name on the women’s program while England’s Thomas Young (T38) and Sophie Hahn (T38) stand between Australia’s Para Athletes and gold in the sprints.

Sport Format

The following qualification procedure will apply for Track events up to 800m. There will be three rounds: Pre-qualification round, Semi-Final and Final. For the One Mile, there will be two rounds: Pre-qualification and Final.

The following events will go straight to finals: 5,000m, 10,000m, 3,000m Steeplechase and 10,000m Walk. The pre-qualification round will include all athletes entered and eligible to compete, except the eight top ranked athletes. The eight top ranked athletes according to the World Athletics Ranking System will directly qualify for the Semi-Finals.

The first two athletes in each Semi-Final, plus two athletes with the best performances in the Semi-Final will qualify for the Final.

In Para Athletics events, qualifications are as follows: 100m, 200m and 400m will each have two heats, with the first three in each heat, plus two by time, progressing to the final. 

For 100m T11/12, if there are three heats, then first in each heat plus one by time: if two heats, first in each heat plus two by time. 

Regarding the 1500m T53/54, if heats are required, then the first three in each heat plus four by time will qualify.

Competition Schedule

Athletics and Para Athletics competition runs from Monday 27 July to Saturday 1 August at Scotstoun Stadium, across 12 sessions and 59 medal events – 29 male, 29 female and 1 mixed relay.

Fast Facts

• Australia has five defending champions from Birmingham 2022 – Nina Kennedy (Pole Vault), Matthew Denny (Discus Throw), Jemima Montag (10,000m Race Walk), Kurtis Marschall (Pole Vault), Oliver Hoare (Mile). 
• Eleanor Patterson, Michelle Jenneke and Ella Pardy are the only three returning athletes from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
• Jessica Hull, Abbey Caldwell and Claudia Hollingsworth will look to make history as Australia looks to win the Women’s 1500m / Mile for the very first time.
• Five of the six Indigenous Australian athletes at the 2026 Commonwealth Games hail from Athletics and Para Athletics – Lexie Brown, Briseis Brittain, Calab Law, Thomas McGough and Layla Sharp. 
• Australia has only ever lost the Women’s Pole Vault once at the Commonwealth Games and will be represented by flag bearer Nina Kennedy in Glasgow.