Masse, Liendo, Angus and Elliot named Canada's Commonwealth Games swimming captains
Commonwealth Games Begin in Glasgow
The 23rd Commonwealth Games are underway in Glasgow, Scotland, running from Thursday until August 2. Approximately 3,000 athletes from 74 Commonwealth nations and territories are participating in a reduced sports program. Glasgow stepped in as host after Australia’s Victoria state government withdrew in 2023 due to rising costs.
The current Games feature 10 sports: artistic gymnastics, athletics, 3×3 basketball, boxing, judo, lawn bowls, netball, swimming, track cycling, and weightlifting. Six of these sports, including athletics, swimming, bowls, basketball, track cycling, and weightlifting, also include para-sport counterparts. This year’s event will host the largest para-sport program in the Games’ history.
The number of medal events has been reduced to 215 in Glasgow, compared to 280 at the previous Games in Birmingham, England. This shift reflects a move towards a more sustainable model for multi-sport events, aiming for quality in a smaller, smarter format.
Canadian Contingent and Key Athletes
Canada has sent a team to Glasgow, led by chef de mission Erica Wiebe, an Olympic gold medallist in wrestling. The Canadian team aims to maintain its historical ranking of third in the overall medal count, behind Australia and England.
The Canadian roster includes several decorated athletes. In athletics, the team features Olympic champion sprinter Andre De Grasse, hammer throwers Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers, decathlete Damian Warner, world champion thrower Sarah Mitton, and race walker Evan Dunfee. Swimmers Kylie Masse and Josh Liendo are also competing, while Olympic champion weightlifter Maude Charron is seeking a third consecutive Commonwealth gold medal.
Four-time Olympic gymnast Ellie Black views the Glasgow Games as a preparatory step for future competitions. Similarly, Kylie Masse, the reigning Commonwealth champion in the 50-metre backstroke, sees the event as an opportunity to compete and reset for the next two years leading into future Olympic Games.
Lawn Bowls Competition
Ryan Bester, a lawn bowls athlete from Hanover, Ontario, is participating in his seventh Commonwealth Games, a Canadian record. He has previously won silver medals in men’s singles in 2014 and 2018, and a bronze in 2006. Bester is also the reigning world champion, having defeated Ireland’s Gary Kelly in 2023.
On the opening day, Bester competed against India and later joined wheelchair basketball player Kady Dandeneau in leading Canada into the opening ceremony. Dandeneau served as Canada’s flag-bearer, while Bester carried the team baton.
The lawn bowls competition in Glasgow features a new format, with games held indoors on an artificial surface. Singles games, previously won by the first to 21 points and lasting up to two hours, will now be two seven-end sets with a one-end tiebreaker if necessary, reducing game time to about an hour. These format changes are part of an effort to include bowls in the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
Bester is seeded fifth and expects to face competitors such as Australia’s Aaron Wilson, a two-time defending Commonwealth Games champion, and Scotland’s Alex Marshall, a five-time gold medallist. Canada also has a strong medal prospect in women’s singles with Kelly McKerihen, who was runner-up at the 2023 World Championships and won bronze in 2012 and 2016. McKerihen is competing in her fourth Commonwealth Games.
Bester and McKerihen will also participate in pairs play, teaming up with John Bezear and Emma Boyd, respectively. Canada has won 12 Commonwealth Games bowls medals in total but has not reached the podium since Bester’s silver in 2018.
Anne Hibberd and Jean Stairs will represent Canada in the para bowls competition. Canada has participated in every Commonwealth Games since hosting the inaugural event in Hamilton in 1930.
Source: theglobeandmail.com
