The fastest athletes in the Commonwealth will be crowned tonight at Scotstoun Stadium, where Lachlan Kennedy’s arrival in Glasgow coincides with the high jump fireworks of Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, who are set to soar amongst six medal events.
Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin) had the luxury of a first-round bye as one of the top eight ranked athletes in the Men’s 100m but will kick-start his Glasgow campaign in the semi-finals, where he will race alongside Edward Nketia (ACT, Brenton Emanuel) and Rohan Browning (NSW, Jack Edwards) who progressed from day one’s heats.
With a personal best of 9.96-seconds en route to his maiden Australian title, Kennedy will aim to become the first Australian man in 64 years to win a medal in the Men’s 100m or 200m at the Commonwealth Games.
To do so, he will have to take down a star-studded field including Ackeem Blake (JAM), Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN) and Kayinsola Ajayi (NGR).
“My goal for the Commonwealth Games, like with any race, is to win,” Kennedy said.
“My goal is always just to run my best race, to beat everyone out there, control what I can control and just represent the country and do it proud.”
Torrie Lewis (QLD, Laurent Meuwly) is Australia’s top prospect for the women after qualifying second via yesterday’s heats in a cruisy 11.15 (+2.4), despite managing a troublesome Achilles throughout a busy schedule which includes the 200m and 4x100m Relay.
Lewis will be joined by Ebony Lane (QLD, Christopher Dale) and Georgia Harris (QLD, Paul Pearce), with Adaejah Hodge (IVB) and Amy Hunt (ENG) awaiting the Australian trio in the semi-finals which feature 14 women who have shattered the 11-second barrier.
Returning to Glasgow for the first time since winning Commonwealth Games gold as an 18-year-old in 2014, Eleanor Patterson (NSW, Fayaaz Caan) will take to the Women’s High Jump with Nicola Olyslagers (NSW, Matt Horsnell), as two of the giants of global high jump go head-to-head.
Both women have cleared two metres outdoors in 2026 but will first have to take down Morgan Lake (ENG), who has a 2.00m personal best.
“The hot contender is definitely Nicola and we’re both in incredible shape,” Patterson said.
“We’ll both put our best foot forward and [it will take] two metres to take the win.”
Dual national record holder Ky Robinson (NSW, Dathan Ritzenhein) is primed for the 10,000m as the first Australian man in history to shatter 27-minutes in the event, which will hold him in good stead against the likes of Ishmael Kipkurui (KEN) and Edwin Kurgat (KEN).
Australian heptathletes Mia Scerri (VIC, Ralph Newton) and Tori West (QLD, Eric Brown & Sam Leslie) will make their Commonwealth Games debuts on day two, and both are capable of challenging for the medals if they can produce two strong days of competition.
Scerri, aged 21, won the Australian Championships in April with a personal best of 6175 points ahead of West by just 13 points (6172). On season-best scores, they are ranked second and third respectively with Jade O’Dowa (ENG) seeded first with 6350 and her English teammate Ellen Barber on par with the Aussies at 6169.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Hammer Throw will feature two Australians in the form of Lara Roberts (QLD, Matt Horneman) and Stephanie Ratcliffe (VIC, Dale Stevenson).
Quarter miler Reece Holder (QLD, Chris Dale) will race for one of 16 lanes in the Men’s 400m. The 23-year-old hasn’t raced an individual 400m since winning the Australian title in April (45.11s) but was in fine form to secure World Relays bronze in May. Thomas Reynold’s (VIC, Matthew Oakley) 44.69 at the Oceania Championships was enough to see him ranked in the top 8 and by-pass the heats.
Australia’s 800m trio of Peter Bol (VIC, Justin Rinaldi), Luke Boyes (NSW, Ben St Lawrence) and Peyton Craig (QLD, Craig Mottram) race their heats, with top-three and next four fastest to progress to the semi-finals. All three are capable of progressing to the final, and Bol has shown form all season to put him in the mix to improve on his silver from Birmingham 2022.
The only Para-athlete on the program on day two is Lindsey Hendy (QLD, Matthew Rawlings), who makes his international debut in the Men’s Long Jump T20.
By Lachlan Moorhouse and Andrew Reid, Australian Athletics
Posted 28/7/2026
