Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026 MAG Preview!

The Commonwealth Games kick off in Glasgow this Friday the 24th and run through Tuesday the 28th, and for commonwealth countries this is our second Olympics — a proper multi-sport major. No USA, Japan or China here, but that is exactly what makes it exciting: a couple of medals at this meet can change the whole trajectory of gymnastics in a smaller country. There is a lot on the line. To figure out who the front runners actually are, we built a database pulling through every score these athletes have posted across 2025 and 2026 — every event, every level, with sources. Everything below comes from that data. Drop your predictions and wild cards in the comments, and if you want to watch the finals live with us, we are hosting watch parties for STAG+ members all week. One thing to know before qualifications: the draw is seeded, with lower-ranked teams in the early subdivisions and the big teams last. That basically turns subdivision three into a team final preview.

THE TEAM BATTLE

Only England, Canada and Australia have ever won the Commonwealth team title, and England have won the last three. A fourth in a row would be history — but this year might not be England's.

Our database projects Canada to win by about three marks with a 252.4 — that is an average of 14 on every counting score. The team is stacked with veterans: Félix Dolci, René Cournoyer and William Émard can all push around the 80 mark in the all-around, Jordan Carroll comes in as the pommel specialist the team needed, and Ethan Ikeda is the reliable backup score. They are fresh off Pan American Games team gold, and that experience keeps them at number one for us. England project second on 249.2 — and here is the thing: this is essentially their B team. England are prioritising the European Championships, which ranks higher for British Gymnastics and feeds into worlds, so the Joe Fraser and Courtney Tulloch names are staying home. Travelling to Glasgow instead: Gabriel Langton, Luke Whitehouse, Adam Tobin, Josh Nathan and Alex Yolshin-Cash. Still seriously strong — Luke has huge floor and vault, Alex has the pommel and parallel bars scores — and it is a real chance for these guys to show what else they can do. The soft spots are rings and high bar, where they will likely have to count some lower scores. Australia project third on 247.9. After medalling at the first seven Commonwealth Games, the Aussies have missed the podium at the last three — last time getting edged into fourth by Cyprus. This team wants that bronze back: Benjamin Foster, Tru Hagens, James Hardy, Ritam Malik, and front runner Jesse Moore, one of the top gymnasts in the world right now. With most of the team capable of high 70s and Jesse recently posting an incredible 84 at Australian champs, they will be fun to watch. Scotland (245.6) are strong, experienced, and at home: Hamish Carter, Cameron Lynn, Pavel Karnejenko, Reuben Ward and Connor Sullivan. Rings is the weak rotation, but expect them to push everything at a home games in Glasgow. Wales (244.9) are in a similar spot with Jacob Edwards, Joe Cemlyn-Jones and Henry Lewis, and Cyprus are the wildcard — they took third last year off a big Marios Georgiou performance, but there simply are not enough recent scores in the database to project them properly. And sadly, New Zealand will not be putting up a team score this time. But depending on injuries and prep: William Fu-Allen can push for the floor final, Daniel Stoddart and Alex Istock are genuine all-around final chances, and Misha Koudinov has the best shot at a parallel bars or high bar final. The finals are looking higher quality than we expected, so it will be tough — but as always we are rooting heavy for the boys.

ALL-AROUND

The favourite is Jesse Moore. He has consistently posted 80s, his 84.283 at Australian nationals is the biggest score in the database by two and a half marks, and he was Australia's highest ever all-around finisher at last year's worlds. The only question is consistency at majors, where he has not always delivered — and we hate saying that, because Jesse is one of our favourite gymnasts, and an Australian Commonwealth title would trickle down to the whole region, New Zealand included. It would also be a heck of a comeback story: at the last CWG he had to withdraw mid-competition with a shoulder injury.

Behind him, the database has William Émard (81.7), Reuben Ward (81.0), René Cournoyer (80.8) and Luke Whitehouse (80.7) all within a mark of each other — genuinely anyone's podium. Our pick: Jesse first, René second on the strength of his recent 80s, Reuben third — and if Reuben repeats his 15 on pommels, he is pushing for gold. Biggest wild card: Marios Georgiou, the 2024 European all-around champion, if Cyprus put him up on everything.

FLOOR

Projected winner: Luke Whitehouse (England) — best score 14.666. Top difficulty: Whitehouse, 6.1.

This one is clear. Luke's 6.1 difficulty is six tenths ahead of the entire field (Félix Dolci is next on 5.5), and he was second at last year's world championships. Jesse Moore got within a tenth at Aussie nats, but that routine was practically perfect and will be hard to replicate. One to watch: Eamon Montgomery of Northern Ireland — his floor is just fun.

POMMEL HORSE

Projected winner: Reuben Ward (Scotland) — best score 15.067. Top difficulty: Josh Nathan (England), 6.0.

The final of the games. Seven athletes here could hold their own at a world championships. Reuben's massive 15.067 from Scottish champs leads the scoring, Josh Nathan brings the biggest routine at 6.0, Alex Yolshin-Cash was fifth at last year's worlds, Tru Hagens has one of the coolest flared routines going — and Rhys McClenaghan is here, with training footage starting to look a lot more like his Olympic-champion self after surgeries and injuries. Do not miss this one.

RINGS

Projected winner: William Émard (Canada) — best score 14.233. Top difficulty: Émard and Sokratis Pilakouris (Cyprus), 5.7.

Honestly the weakest final of the six, but the shape of it is interesting: Émard and Pilakouris have five tenths of difficulty on everyone else, and Émard tends to execute rings very well. He is our pick.

VAULT

Projected winner: Ng Chun Chen (Malaysia) — best two-vault average 14.183. Top difficulty: seven athletes tied on 5.2.

Our top projected vaulter is Ng Chun Chen, fresh off gold at the Varna Challenge Cup. A win here would make him Malaysia's first ever Commonwealth vault medalist — and that story is exactly why he is our favourite. Luke Whitehouse (14.083 average) and James Hardy — who owns the biggest single vault in the database at 14.566 — are right there with him.

PARALLEL BARS

Projected winner: Alex Yolshin-Cash (England) — best score 14.3. Top difficulty: René Cournoyer (Canada), 5.4.

Genuinely hard to call. Alex leads the scoring, René brings the biggest routine, and Elliot Vernon and Jesse Moore are within two tenths. Our honest hope: Misha Koudinov sneaking into this final. He has been training a 5.3 difficulty routine — right up with the leaders — and he posts weekly videos covering all of his CWG prep if you want to follow along.

HIGH BAR

Projected winner: Félix Dolci (Canada) — best score 14.85. Top difficulty: Dolci, 5.8.

Big hitters here: Dolci, Jesse Moore and Marios Georgiou. We are going Félix just over Jesse — more international hits, a slightly bigger routine, and less risk in how he builds it. Jesse gets a lot of his difficulty from an exciting triple connection, which is exactly as thrilling and as dangerous as it sounds.

BEYOND THE MEDALS

The podiums mostly live in subdivision three, but the early subdivisions are exciting for a completely different reason: athletes from developing gymnastics countries who rarely get a multi-sport stage like this. In subdivision one, watch Jovi Loh — last year he became the first Singaporean gymnast to make an all-around final at junior worlds, and he could sneak into finals here too. Chane Cumbermack is becoming the best gymnast Trinidad and Tobago has produced and has a real all-around final chance. And in subdivision two, keep an eye on India: a rising scene, outside coaching help, and juniors who just took a historic team bronze at Asian champs. Get familiar with these names now. That is the full preview. All scores and projections come from our 2025–26 database — every athlete, every event, sources included. Tell us your predictions in the comments, and come watch the finals with us: watch parties run all week for STAG+ members.