Wales shines at Commonwealth Games: Morris and Finucane win cycling golds

Team Wales continued their strong start to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with two golds and a bronze on day two of Track cycling action at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Anna Morris powered to Women’s Individual Pursuit gold with a new Games record, while Carmarthenshire’s Emma Finucane claimed her second title of the Games in the Women’s Sprint, where teammate Rhian Edmunds completed a Welsh double podium with bronze.

Anna Morris added an individual Commonwealth title to the Team Pursuit bronze she won on Thursday with a dominant performance in the Women’s Individual Pursuit.

The Olympic medallist and former world record holder qualified second fastest for the final over the newly extended 4,000m distance.

In the final, the Welsh rider delivered a commanding performance to win by more than six seconds and set a new Commonwealth Games record of 4:24.272.

Morris celebrated by leaving the track draped in the Welsh flag, ensuring a memorable second day in Glasgow and adding gold to the bronze she had already collected alongside her Team Pursuit teammates.

There were also strong performances from Jess Roberts and Ciara Oliva in the event.

Oliva produced a superb qualifying ride to take five seconds off her personal best and finish seventh overall, while Roberts finished 11th, just a day after helping Wales to Team Pursuit bronze.

The Women’s Sprint allowed both Emma Finucane and Rhian Edmunds the opportunity to secure places on the podium.

Finucane qualified fastest and broke the Games record with a blistering 10.322s ride before navigating her way through the rounds. The Welsh rider demonstrated her speed and tactical ability under pressure to charge towards the medals.

Edmunds was producing an impressive campaign of her own. A strategic battle with Scotland's rider Bell featured track stands and a photo finish as the Welsh rider fought her way through the competition.

Their performances ultimately set up an all-Welsh semi-final, guaranteeing Wales representation in both medal contests.

Edmunds was left to battle England’s Sophie Capewell for bronze in another Home Nations showdown and secured the bronze medal.

Finucane then completed another golden night for Wales, taking the final by half a bike length to become Commonwealth champion for the second time in two days.

Lowri Thomas also represented Wales in the event, producing a strong ride but missing out on progression through the later rounds.

Games records continued to fall throughout Friday, including in the Men’s Individual Pursuit, where Australia’s Oliver Bleddyn set a new Commonwealth Games record of 4:03.898.

Rhys Britton and Will Salter represented Wales in a high-quality field, with Britton finishing 10th and Salter 13th in qualifying.

Both riders had already been part of the Welsh quartet that narrowly missed out on Team Pursuit bronze on Thursday and returned to the track for another demanding endurance test on day two.

The evening programme also saw Megan Barker, Carys Lloyd and Morris line up for Wales in the Women’s Scratch Race.

Following her Individual Pursuit triumph, Morris returned to racing and secured fifth place, while Lloyd and Barker finished 20th and 21st respectively.

There was plenty of action for Wales in the Men’s Keirin, with Steff Lloyd, Jonah Jenkins and Ioan Hepburn all taking to the track.

Lloyd and Jenkins found themselves battling one another in the opening repechage, with the younger Welsh rider Jenkins taking the victory to keep his campaign alive.

Jenkins continued through the competition but narrowly missed a place in the major final. He returned for the minor final to produce another strong performance and finish 10th overall.

Hepburn also rode strongly but was unable to progress beyond his first repechage, finishing 17th overall.

After an opening night that delivered three medals, Wales raised the bar again on Friday with two Commonwealth titles and another bronze.

Beyond the podium there were personal bests and strong performances across the Individual Pursuit, Keirin, Scratch Race and the Elimination Race. In the Men’s Elimination Race, Rory Gravelle, William Perrett and William Roberts all took to the track for the final event of the evening, finishing in 10th, 16th and 18th respectively and providing further positives for the Welsh team as their campaign continues to build.

With Welsh jerseys regularly featuring at the sharp end of the racing, attention now turns to Saturday and another opportunity for Team Wales to add to an already impressive Glasgow 2026 medal haul.