Carmarthenshire cyclist Emma Finucane was amongst those celebrating as Wales picked up three medals on the opening night of track cycling at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Team Wales opened their Glasgow 2026 Track and Para Track cycling campaign in style, claiming gold, silver and bronze on an action-packed first day at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Records tumbled and medals were won as Welsh riders made their mark on the opening day of competition, headlined by a sensational gold and Games record for the Women’s Team Sprint trio.

Emma Finucane, Rhian Edmunds and Lowri Thomas got their campaign off to a flying start in Thursday’s opening session, qualifying fastest for the Women’s Team Sprint gold medal final, whilst setting a new Games record.

The trio clocked a Games record of 46.972s to set up an all-Home Nations showdown with England, guaranteeing an improvement on the bronze medal Wales secured in the event at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The Birmingham bronze-medal-winning team, returned with even more to give in the final with gold at stake, powering to victory over England in 46.760s, breaking their own Games record from earlier in the day and securing Team Wales’ first track cycling gold of Glasgow 2026.

Team Wales opened their Glasgow 2026 Track and Para Track cycling campaign in style, claiming gold, silver and bronze on an action-packed first day at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Team Wales opened their Glasgow 2026 Track and Para Track cycling campaign in style, claiming gold, silver and bronze on an action-packed first day at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome. (Beicio Cymru)

Pursuit Quartet Battle to Brilliant Bronze

There was further success in the Women’s Team Pursuit as Megan Barker, Anna Morris, Ciara Oliva and Jess Roberts raced to bronze. The quartet opened their campaign with an impressive 4:15.514s in qualifying to earn a place in the bronze medal final against England. Their opening ride was already more than five seconds quicker than the Welsh team’s performance at Birmingham 2022, where Wales finished fourth in the event.

With Olympic bronze medallists Morris and Roberts and world team pursuit medallist Barker among the experienced Welsh line-up, the quartet stepped things up again when they returned for the medal race. Wales stopped the clock at 4:12.973s, improving by more than two seconds from their morning ride to defeat England and secure a Commonwealth bronze.

Ball and Rotherham Claim Tandem Silver

James Ball and pilot Matt Rotherham added silver to the Welsh medal haul in the Tandem B 1000m Time Trial Final. The pair produced a time of 1:00.546s to take second place and earn Wales another trip to the podium. While pleased to begin their Games with silverware, Rotherham admitted the pair were “gutted not to sing the anthem”, and they will be looking to go one better when they return to racing on Saturday in the Men’s Tandem B Sprint.

Welsh Squads Show Their Speed on Opening Day

There was also plenty to take from the Men’s Team Pursuit, with Rhys Britton, Will Roberts, Rory Gravelle and Will Salter producing strong rides. The quartet qualified for the bronze medal final against New Zealand with a time of 3:55.552s, with Commonwealth Games experience from Britton and Roberts complemented by the next generation of Welsh endurance talent in Gravelle and under-23 European Team Pursuit champion Salter.

After qualifying, the team expressed their belief that they had more to give and delivered exactly that in the final. Their 3:54.063s was almost a second and a half quicker than their opening effort, but despite the improvement, New Zealand took the bronze and Wales finished just outside the medals.

Ioan Hepburn, Steffan Lloyd and Lewis Oliva were also in action for Wales in the Men’s Team Sprint, clocking 44.075s to secure a place in the bronze medal match. However, Hepburn was taken unwell ahead of the final, meaning the Welsh trio were unable to contest for the bronze and the medal was awarded to Trinidad and Tobago.

The opening day provided no shortage of fast racing across the velodrome, with world records falling in the C4-C5 Individual Pursuit alongside several new Games records.

Australia set a new Commonwealth Games record of 4:10.658s on their way to Women’s Team Pursuit gold, while England also broke the Games record in the Men’s Team Pursuit with a 3:47.092s ride.

With three medals, a Commonwealth title and a Games record already secured, day one was a memorable opening for the Welsh contingent in Glasgow.

Attention now turns to Friday, with another packed day of track and para track action ahead at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.