Team Scotland chief reveals why smaller Commonwealth Games venues can boost medal hopes
Crowd has potential to ‘inspire’ Scottish athletes
Small can be beautiful for Scotland’s Commonwealth Games athletes who have been urged to take advantage of the smaller venues being used at Glasgow 2026.
The city is staging a scaled back version of the Games which begin on Thursday and run until August 2.
There are only 10 sports featuring, compared to 20 in Birmingham four years ago, after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting due to spiralling costs.
No new infrastructure has been built, with Glasgow relying on the facilities they used when they last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The more cost-effective approach means some of the sports are taking place in venues smaller than the ones used 12 years ago.
However, Elinor Middlemiss, Team Scotland’s Chef de Mission, thinks that will help generate a noisy atmosphere which should benefit the host nations
“Home advantage is huge,” said Middlemiss, speaking at the opening of Team Scotland House, the squad’s HQ in central Glasgow. “All of the athletes are absolutely sure that the crowds will be behind them, the crowds are there to help them.
“What's really exciting about these Games is that some of the sporting venues are a bit tighter, so the crowd will be upon them. The noise will be amazing and that will really help them.
“And it’s not only the home advantage, it's the advantage of pulling on the Scottish jersey because this is the only opportunity at a multi-sport event when our athletes can pull on a Scottish jersey.
“They compete for GB with pride, but they really are passionate about competing for Scotland and this is the only time that they get to do it in a multi-sport event.
“That is always really helpful for that added inspiration and passion around them wanting to do really well for Team Scotland and themselves and their family and friends.”
Athletics offers the most stark example of the scaled-down Games. At Glasgow 2014, the track and field events were staged at Hampden Park, where the 52,000-capacity national football stadium had a track installed. This year, the athletics will be held at Scostoun Stadium which is expected to hold around 12,000 spectators with the addition of temporary stands.
“I think the sporting arenas, the sporting venues, the way that they are going to be presented are going to be really exciting for the athletes,” added Middlemiss.
“It's going to be fantastic fields or pools for them to compete on or in, whatever their sport is. That crowd is going to be right behind them and that's going to be nothing but inspirational.”
No specific medal target for Scotland
Team Scotland will be represented by 177 competitors in Glasgow, 61 of whom were part of the squad in Birmingham. Of the 61, 21 are returning medallists. There are 116 new members. Athletics provides the biggest Scottish cohort, with 39 members, followed by swimming on 33.
Scotland finished sixth in the medal table in Birmingham in 2022 and their haul of 51 was made up of 13 golds, 11 silvers and 27 bronzes. They did even better at Glasgow 2014, finishing fourth with 53 medals. Middlemiss played down trying to emulate those performances which came at Games where more medals were awarded.
“We're not putting a specific medal target,” she said. “We've got some world-class athletes out there. I think we're all about supporting that and creating the right environment so that they can perform at the best at the right time. That's what we're here to do.
“Our world-class athletes, if they perform to their best, they've got their aims and ambitions. And if they get out on the field of play with those fantastic crowds and put in the performances that they're looking to do, then medals will follow.”
“We got 51 medals in Birmingham, but there were a lot more sports. I think the really important thing about these Games is that you can't compare it to the other ones because it is a different sports programme.
“We just have to say that success is that the athletes have performed. That will bring medals, but we can't actually put a number on that or a place on the table because you can't compare it because of the different sports programme.
“It is a little bit harder to define success, but I think the excitement and the buzz that they create and the athletes feeling that they've done themselves proud out there, that's how we will measure success.”
There is no athletes’ village in Glasgow which means the teams are being housed in hotels around the city.
“Logistically it's made it a challenge because you're bringing stuff into five or six different hubs rather than a central hub,” said Middlemiss.
“We knew it was going to be like that for the last 18 months, so you just prepare for it, you make it happen, and we're there.
“The organising company has got a hotel footprint across the Glasgow city centre, in that small footprint of the Games of eight to 10 miles. Scotland is spread across a number of hotels, but all 74 nations are spread across lots of hotels in the Glasgow city centre.”
Middlemiss paid tribute to Josh Kerr following his world record-breaking run in the mile in London on Saturday and looked forward to seeing him run in the Commonwealth Mile at Scotstoun.
“Congratulations to Josh Kerr,” she said. “I was watching it in my kitchen and I was as excited as everybody else. Absolutely fantastic. Well done, Josh.
“So when he comes to the Mile at Scotstoun at the end of the programme, we've got a fantastic athletics team, we've got other strong competitors in the Mile, we've got some really strong athletes within that team and within the wider team of the 177, we've got lots of really world-class athletes. So these inspirational athletes will help. We've got all sorts of diverse athletes in the team.”
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