Team Scotland athletes deliver 39 medals and plenty of moments to remember in front of passionate home crowds at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The 13 gold, 9 silver and 17 bronze is Scotland’s third best tally from any Commonwealth Games, matching the gold medal tally at Birmingham 2022 with a streamlined sports programme and smaller athlete team in the reimagined Games in Glasgow.
There were impressive Commonwealth debuts, records broken and experienced athletes relishing under the pressure of a performing in front of a home crowd.
Neil Fachie, alongside pilot Aaron Pope, became Scotland’s most decorated Commonwealth athlete with two gold medals in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. Angharad Evans became a breakout star of Glasgow 2026, winning two individual breaststroke gold medals and a silver and bronze in relay.
In para-athletics Melanie Woods won two gold medals, the 1500m T54 win made history as a Commonwealth record but will be remembered for Woods having to win it twice. She won gold in the first run, also setting a Games record, but following appeals after a crash in the race it was decided it should be re-run. Woods came back two days later and won gold again, even managing to improve on her time.
Angharad Evans became a breakout star of the Games with two gold medals in the pool while Josh Kerr lit up Scotstoun with a dominant performance in the men’s mile to win one of the most anticipated events of Glasgow 2026.
There were also gold medals for Duncan Scott, Stephen Clegg, Ben Sandilands, Faye Rogers and Robert Barr and Mary Stevenson alongside directors Sarah Jane Ewing and Jim Aitken in the bowls mixed para pairs.
Reuben Ward was named as the Team Scotland flag bearer for the closing ceremony after becoming the first Scottish male gymnast to win all-round gold in Games history. Following up with a silver in the Pommel Horse where teammate Cameron Lynn win bronze.
Scotland’s men 3x3 basketball team’s bronze medal secured the first ever team medal at the Games with a bronze.
The 11 days of competition underlined the strength of Scottish performance sport, behind every medal and personal best is a network of support that stretches back to clubs and coaches where athletes started their sporting journey, to support at Sport Governing Bodies as well as the sportscotland institute of sport.
Twenty-seven sportscotland staff joined colleagues from across the sporting system as part of the staff team that supported Team Scotland athletes during Glasgow 2026 in areas such as sports medicine, physiotherapy, team management, nutrition, physical preparation, physiology and performance psychology. While the Commonwealth Games was a priority for many athletes, the experts at the sportscotland institute of sport support athletes year-round helping to reach their goals, stay physically and mentally in top condition and recover from injury.
In addition to staffing expertise, £210k of sportscotland funding from the SAPA programme supported 43 athletes from eight sports in the build up to the Games. The National Lottery funded sportscotland Athlete Personal Award programme is designed to ease financial pressures and allow athletes to dedicate more time to training, recovery and competitions.
The impact of the Games extended beyond the competition venues. Children, young people and families were able to enjoy free activities, sport and live screenings of Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games events at the Game On Live Site.
Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park was transformed for 11 days to allow families and fans to gather to watch the Games on giant screens, while getting the chance to try a diverse range of physical activities – inspired by the Summer of Sport.
The Game On Live Site was backed by £1 million from Scottish Government’s Summer of Sport programme and supported by funding from Commonwealth Sport. It is part of the Scottish Government’s wider £20 million Summer of Sport campaign which is funding opportunities designed to make sport more accessible across all 32 local authority areas drawing inspiration from the Games and the Scotland men’s team’s participation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
