The Commonwealth Games may have lost the luster of old, but two years out from the Olympic Games, they remain a yardstick for where many of the world’s top athletes are in their preparations for Los Angeles 2028.
This year’s event in Glasgow again brings together the 56 member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, territories that, at one stage in their history, were under British rule or remain so today.
Canada, India, Australia and South Africa are four of the most notable, but there are 21 members from the <a href="https://absafricatv9491.live-website.com/south-african-news-stay-updated-without-the-doom/” title=”South African news: Stay updated without the doom”>African continent in total, including Nigeria and Ghana, as well as many Francophone and even Lusophone nations.
It is in the track and field events where these countries generally excel, and Africa can expect a handsome medal haul at Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium this week.
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is the red-hot favorite in the women’s 100m hurdles, not only because she is the defending Commonwealth Games champion, but also as she is the world record-holder with a time of 12.12 seconds.
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Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga is the defending champion in the men’s 400m and will compete again, having also picked up bronze at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Known for his fast finishes, if he is near the front coming into the final stretch, the rest of the field will be in trouble.
Kenya are known for their runners and have several favorites in both the middle- and long-distance races.
Lilian Odira qualified fastest from the women’s 800m heats on Monday and, as the reigning world champion, she will expect to triumph in Friday’s final, not least because she seemed to run within herself, finishing some six seconds outside her personal best.
Botswana’s Oratile Nowe and Rachel Klopfenstein of Mauritius will also be in the mix.
Faith Cherotich of Kenya is also the favorite in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, though she could face some competition from Uganda’s former Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai.
Several athletes are missing from Glasgow, not least Botswana’s sprint star Letsile Tebogo. That could open the door for South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile in the men’s 200m, who arrives at the Games ranked fourth in the world and will be looking for a podium finish, perhaps even gold.
Compatriot Jo-Ane du Plessis will hope to improve on her silver medal at the Paris Olympic Games as she leads the javelin field, while Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi could be a contender in the men’s shot put.
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