The first individual Gymnastics medals highlight day 3 at the commonwealth games

Day 3 sees the first individual gymnastics medals handed out, as well as the first able-bodied weightlifting medals and nine more swimming medals up for grabs as the Commonwealth Games step up another gear and are now in full swing.

Swimming and Para Swimming

Medal Events: Women's 1500m Freestyle; Women's S9 100m Backstroke Final; Men's S9 100m Backstroke Final; Women's 100m Breaststroke Final; Men's 100m Butterfly Final; Women's 100m Backstroke Final; Men's 200m Backstroke Final; Men's 50m Freestyle Final; Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final.

The fastest swimmers in the pool will battle it out for gold in the men's 50m freestyle, which saw the top 7 in the heats separated by only 0.4 seconds. The massive favourite coming in was Olympic Champion and World record holder Cam McEvoy (AUS), but he was only second in his heat behind Joshua Liendo (CAN), who is usually better at the longer distances of 100m and 200m, and showed he has the speed to contend with the aforementioned McEvoy and his Australian teammates Jamie Jack and Flynn Southam the medals should come from these four men with outside opportunities for Calvyn Justus (RSA) and David Young (FIJ) to claim a medal and everyone should be rooting for Young cause if he gets a medal he would be the first Fijian ever to claim a commonwealth medal in the pool. 

The Men's 100m Butterfly also promises to be a close run thing, with Liendo also going in this final, an event he is much better at normally, as shown by his Olympic silver medal in 2024, but like McEvoy in the 50m, he didn't have it all his own way in the heats, finishing second in his heat behind Edward Mildred (ENG) and qualifying with the third fastest time behind Matthew Temple (AUS) and Mildred throw in fellow Aussie Ben Armbruster into the mix and those four were only seperated by 0.44 in the heats plus newly crowned most successful male Commonwealth swimmer ever in Chad le Clos (RSA) these five should provide a very close very tense final that could go anyway.

The Women's 100m backstroke looks like a three-way fight between Iona Anderson (AUS), Kylie Masse (CAN) and Katie Shanahan (SCO). Shanahan will have the home backing and will be boosted by her silver medal in the 200m backstroke, but that is her preferred distance and will come under fire from 200m backstroke bronze medalist Hannah Fredericks (AUS), who will be looking to beat her to a place on the podium behind the presumed battle between Anderson and Masse for gold. Masse has the experience of five individual Olympic medals, but she is 30 now, and the 20-year-old Aussie Anderson is coming into her peak years and should be the slight favourite to beat Masse into Silver.

The Women's 100m breaststroke final should be a more straightforward affair with Angharad Evans (SCO) the favourite, but she will come under fire from the 17-year-old Australian Sienna Toohey who is only getting faster and faster. The fight for the rest of the medals should also be tight, with Aimee Canny (RSA), Ella Ramsay (AUS) and Sophie Angus (CAN) also capable of challenging Evans if they produce their best race 

The closest thing to a marathon in the pool sees the women's 1500m freestyle being swum for the first time ever at the Commonwealth Games. 400m freestyle gold medalist Lani Pallister is the heavy favourite to claim the inaugural Commonwealth title with her PB of 15:39.14 way ahead of the rest of the field, whose PBs are around the 16-minute mark, so this shouldn't be close. 400m silver medalist Erika Fairweather (NZL), Moesha Johnson (AUS) and Eve Thomas (NZL) should contend for the final two steps on the podium.

Another relay, another race that is Australia's to lose this time, the men's 4x200m freestyle, but this one could be a bit less straightforward than the first two of these championships. Team GB have dominated this event over recent championships, and despite the team of Tom Dean, Duncan Scott, Matt Richards and James Guy being split up into their constituent nations, England still have a chance to dethrone the dominant Aussies, as the aforementioned Dean and Guy will likely be joined by Gabriel Sheppard and Jacob Mills who while not being elite over this distance are very good and can keep the Aussies in touching distance for and if you add up the pbs of the presumed England and Australian teams England just edge it so this is a must watch race. The Battle for Bronze should also be very close, with Scotland led by Duncan Scott and Wales led by Matt Richards. Canada, who don't have an elite name like Scotland and Wales but have a much more balanced team without a weak link.

The women's S9 100m backstroke final at Tollcross features a marquee matchup, with world record holder Alice Tai of England heavily favoured to defend her Commonwealth title. New Zealand's Tokyo Paralympic champion Tupou Neiufi poses the biggest threat, while Australia's multi-Paralympic champion Lakeisha Patterson returns to the scene of her 2014 debut to contend for a podium spot.

Australia's Timothy Hodge is favoured for the men's S9 100m backstroke gold, having secured the Paralympic title in Paris and defending his world championship title. As the reigning Commonwealth champion and Games record holder in this discipline, Hodge is expected to lead the field, while Northern Ireland’s Barry McClements, a 2022 bronze medalist in this event, joins local favourite Sam Downie in leveraging home-nation support to challenge for the remaining podium positions.

Gymnastics

Medal Events: Men's All-around final and Women's all-around final

The men's all-around final looks like a straight shootout between Felix Dolci (CAN) and Marios Georgiou (CYP). Dolci is coming in off the high of winning the team competition and being the highest qualifier into this final, but Georgiou isnt far behind and has been there and done this before, winning bronze in this event on the Gold Coast and is the 2024 European All-around champion, meaning he has the pedigree over Dolci, who has never won a senior international medal the difference between the two is likely to come on the rings or the Pommel Horse. Dolci will need to capitalise on the rings, which are Georgiou's weakest apparatus, whereas the pommel is the most treacherous of the apparatus, but Georgiou is a fairly safe bet on pommel. Dolci is far from that, meaning if he falls on pommel, he's unlikely to be able to claw that back across the other five apparatus. The battle behind these two should be very close with Reuben Ward (SCO), Luke Whitehouse (ENG), William Emard (CAN) and Adam Tobin (ENG) all in the mix for a medal if the top two falter at any point.

The women's all-around final looks set to be an emotional and heavily contested shootout between defending Commonwealth champion Georgia Godwin (AUS) and four-time Olympian Ellie Black (CAN). Godwin arrives in Glasgow having claimed five medals at the 2022 Games, but Black has also claimed 7 commonwealth medals over the past three Games, so the pedigree is very similar. The difference between these two is likely to come down to the uneven bars and the balance beam. Black looked phenomenal on the bars during qualifying, posting a massive score that gives her an advantage on that apparatus. Conversely, Godwin is so consistent on the beam, an apparatus that frequently trips up even the most seasoned competitors, so if Black suffers a wobble or form break, the Australian has the composure to seize the gold. Behind these two, the battle for the final podium spot should be fiercely contested, with Abi Martin (ENG), Ruby Pass (AUS) and Wales' world floor silver medallist Ruby Evans primed to capitalise on any mistakes from the frontrunners.

Weightlifting

Medal events: Men's 60kg final, Women's 48kg final and Men's 65kg final

The men's 60kg final looks like a straight shootout between Rishikanta Singh (IND) and Aniq Kasdan (MAS). Singh is coming in off the high of winning the 2025 Commonwealth weightlifting Championship title, but Kasdan won gold in the 55kg division in Birmingham. The difference between the two is likely to come on the transition between the snatch and the clean and jerk. Singh will need to capitalise on the snatch, where he is explosive out of the blocks, whereas the clean and jerk can be unforgiving, but Kasdan is a fairly safe bet under the heaviest loads. Singh is far from that level of late-competition consistency, meaning if he fails to build a lead in the snatch, he's unlikely to be able to claw that back against the Malaysian in the clean and jerk. The battle behind these two should be very close with Antonin Lanoue (CAN), Kieran Stiles (ENG), and Supun Dilhara Somathilaka (SRI) all in the mix for a medal.

Mirabai Chanu stands head and shoulders above the rest of the field in the women's 48kg category, turning this final into an exhibition of sheer world-class dominance rather than a tight contest. The Indian legend arrives with an untouchable resume, including an Olympic silver medal and multiple Commonwealth crowns, meaning the gold is virtually hers to lose before the barbell even leaves the ground. With her opening weights comfortably eclipsing what most rivals can hit at their absolute max, the real drama happens entirely behind her. A frantic, volatile scramble for the remaining podium steps will play out among a fierce chasing pack featuring Scotland's host-nation hope Alex Mackay, Wales's Nikole Roberts, and Nigeria's Ruth Asouquo.

The men's 65kg final looks wide open. Aznil Bidin (MAS) is coming in as the reigning Commonwealth champion and possesses supreme composure, but Morea Baru (PNG) isn't far behind; he relies on sheer, unadulterated power rather than Bidin's finesse. Bidin will need to capitalise on the snatch, where his technical ability gives him an advantage over Baru, whereas the clean and jerk allows Baru to use his power to push higher weights there. Bidin will need a cushion after the snatch if he's to win, whereas Baru just needs to stay close in the snatch and to allow him to overturn his inevitable deficit in the clean and jerk. The battle behind these two should be very close, with Muthupandi Raja (IND), Dimitris Minasidis (CYP), Favour Agboro (Nigeria) and Sandu Jayawardhana (Sri Lanka) all capable of medalling should they get everything right

Daniel Mott