This summer’s big event in Glasgow is fast approaching and athletics will take center stage.
Few sporting experiences match the atmosphere of a packed athletics stadium. Tensions build before the race begins. The stadium quiets down. Athletes are preparing. Then the gun goes off and the noise comes right back as the competitors run down the track. At the same time, field events are unfolding around the stadium. A personal best throw lands in the field. A bouncer clears the bar to cheers from the crowd.
Scotstoun Stadium will be lit up at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games this July with some of the biggest names in global athletics set to battle it out in the hope of reaching the Commonwealth podium. They include both home nation and international stars, athletes who have performed at the highest level of the sport and now have the opportunity to make their mark in Glasgow. Backed by the roar of the home crowd, they will be chasing those medals and history-making moments.
History maker Dina Usher-Smith herself, Britain’s fastest woman, will return to Glasgow this summer after missing out on Birmingham 2022 due to injury. A world name in sprinting, he is determined to return to speed and knows exactly what the occasion calls for. Usher-Smith told Glasgow 2026. “I think the Commonwealth Games are the most fun championships we’ve had so I’m really, really excited. Being in Scotland it still feels like home so the support will be incredible.
After nearly a decade of searching for “the next Usain Bolt,” a group of sprinting stars are breaking through and putting Jamaica back on the main event podium. Kishan Thompson’s breakthrough moment came at Paris 2024, but before he won World silver 12 months later, it was teammate Oblique Seville who took gold in Tokyo. Their battle for gold is set to be the highlight of Glasgow’s 2026 athletics programme. Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic, Commonwealth and Asian Games javelin champion, is one of India’s most beautiful athletics stars of all time.
At Tokyo 2020, he became only the second athlete in his country’s history to win an individual Olympic gold and the first to win the honor in his Olympic debut. The 28-year-old is likely to be the focal point of the Indian team when they head to the home Commonwealth Games in 2030. And of course Scotland’s golden girl of distance running and official Glasgow 2026 ambassador Eilish McColgan has her sights set firmly on home turf, ready to defend her title. “The opportunity to be in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games and to wear a Scotland vest, to be in front of my family and friends, that’s something I can’t turn down.”
The Commonwealth Games was the first major multi-sport event to have a fully integrated sports programme, and it continues to lead the way. Glasgow 2026 promises to be the most inclusive Games yet, with thousands of fans set to experience the biggest para-sport medal program ever in Games history. Ndodomzi Ntutu, the South African para-athletics star, may be well into his 40s but insists he still has plenty of speed left in his legs. The visually impaired runner is aiming to make history by claiming the 100m title at a third Commonwealth Games in a row, in what he calls a ‘golden treble’.
Australian wheelchair racing icon Madison de Rosario has been winning major medals for almost two decades. Will he be looking for a third successive 1500m Commonwealth crown in Glasgow in 2026? Athletics and para-athletics is at the heart of the Commonwealth Games and has been part of the event since its earliest editions. The sport brings together athletes from around the world to compete in disciplines that test all aspects of physical performance.
On the track, sprinters explode out of the blocks, while middle and long-distance runners battle through tactical races and dramatic final laps. Strength and technique take center stage on the field. Jumpers chase height and distance, while throwers hurl tools across the stadium for victory. Each event offers its own challenge. Together, they create a program that celebrates the full range of athletic ability.
And in a sport where edges are measured in seconds and centimeters, every attempt counts. The action kicks off in Glasgow on July 24, with six days of packed sporting competition, every moment giving spectators the chance to be part of history. The countdown continues. Scotstown is preparing.
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