Australian gymnast Kate McDonald secures second Commonwealth Games gold
Kate McDonald of Australia has achieved her second gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, winning the uneven bars event. Her performance, scoring 14.333 points, marked a significant improvement from her previous appearance at the 2022 Birmingham Games.
McDonald’s score was the only one to exceed the 14.000-point mark in the competition. She finished 0.433 points ahead of Ellie Black of Canada, who took silver, while Emily Roper of Wales earned the bronze medal.
Gymnastics Success for Australia
This individual gold follows McDonald’s earlier success in Glasgow, where she was part of the Australian team that secured a gold medal. Her victory on the uneven bars helps to erase the memory of her seventh-place finish in the same event at the 2022 Games.
The uneven bars final was part of a productive day for Australian gymnastics. James Hardy also contributed to the medal tally, earning a bronze in the floor exercise routine. Hardy’s score of 13.433 points surpassed his qualifying performance, marking his first individual medal and his second bronze overall at the Games.
Hardy’s floor medal ended a 16-year drought for Australia in the men’s floor apparatus, with the nation’s last medal in this event dating back to the 2010 Delhi Games. His team bronze was also the first for Australia since the 2010 Games.
Another Australian gymnast, Jesse Moore, added to the country’s medal haul by winning an individual all-around bronze medal the day before. Hardy competed with a pink ribbon painted on his right hand’s ring finger, a tribute to his mother, Sally, who is in remission after a breast cancer diagnosis and surgery earlier in the year. His teammates, including Moore, Ritam Malik, Ben Foster, and Tru Hagens, also painted their nails in support.
However, not all Australian gymnasts found success. Malik narrowly missed a bronze medal in the pommel horse, finishing 0.500 points short. Moore placed seventh after a fall from the apparatus. Georgia Godwin, battling soreness, finished fifth in her vault title defence. McDonald’s teammate, Ruby Pass, who is 19 years old, finished eighth in the uneven bars after a fall during her routine.
Athletics Highlights and Upcoming Events
Away from the gymnastics arena, Australia also celebrated its first athletics gold medal of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Middle-distance runner Rose Davies secured gold in the women’s 10,000m on the opening day of track and field events in Glasgow. Davies took the lead in the final kilometre of the 25-lap race, finishing 10 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Diana Wanza. This marks the first time an Australian woman has won this event.
Wanza, an African champion, had made a move with six laps remaining, but Davies reeled her in before pushing ahead in the final two laps. Davies, who holds national records in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, is scheduled to compete in the shorter distance on Friday.
The athletics programme at Scotstoun commenced with the 100m heats. In the women’s event, Torrie Lewis qualified for the semi-finals with a time of 11.15 seconds, joined by fellow Australians Ebony Lane and Georgia Harris. For the men, Eddie Nketia qualified with a wind-assisted time of 10.07 seconds. He will be joined by seeded competitor Lachie Kennedy and Rohan Browning, who advanced with a time of 10.24 seconds.
Browning expressed concerns about the qualification format, which grouped runners based on times rather than traditional placings, particularly given the inconsistent and gusty conditions. He described the progression method as “unheard of” and “extremely weird,” noting that some heats would inevitably have better conditions than others.
The Commonwealth Games schedule for the upcoming day includes a variety of events. Bowls and Para-bowls will feature three finals, while weightlifting will have the men’s 88kg final and women’s 63kg and 69kg finals. Athletics and Para-athletics will continue with six finals, including the men’s and women’s 100m. Swimming and Para-swimming will host 10 finals, and artistic gymnastics will conclude with five finals, including the men’s vault and women’s beam. Boxing will see seven quarter-finals, and netball matches include South Africa versus Northern Ireland, Wales versus Trinidad & Tobago, New Zealand versus Uganda, and Australia versus Malawi. Additionally, 3×3 basketball and 3×3 wheelchair basketball are scheduled.
The swimming events, taking place at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, are set to continue until July 29th, 2026.
Source: theguardian.com
