GLASGOW: Emma Finu­cane sprinted into Common­wealth Games history with a fourth track cycling gold as New Zealand were crowned netball queens in the final day of action in Glasgow.

Welsh sensation Finucane has been one of the stars of the games and completed a clean sweep of sprint medals with victory in the keirin at the Chris Hoy Velodrome.

After previous gold medals in the team and individual sprints and the 1000m time trial, Finucane proved too strong for New Zealand’s Olympic champion Ellesse Andrews, who took silver with Kristina Clonan of Australia in bronze.

No male or female cyclist had ever won four sprint golds at a single Commonwealth Games on the track.

“Honestly, I can’t put it into words,” said Finucane.

“Every time I won this week, it was like ‘are you going to get the four?’ And it was just so hard to block it out. I really wanted it but just had to race through the races.”

Australia picked up two more golds in the velodrome through Leigh Hoffman in the men’s 1000m time trial and Alyssa Polites in the women’s elimination race to round off a spectacular 10 days for those in green and gold.

The Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 23rd Commonwealth Games three years ago due to concerns over rising costs.

But Australia’s athletes have looked at home in Glasgow as they won 70 gold medals among a total haul of 171 medals.

England were second in the medal table on 29 golds, followed by Canada.

India, which will host the centenary version of the Commonwealths in four years’ time in Ahmedabad, tied with hosts Scotland for fourth place with 13 golds and 39 medals in total.

One of the few scenes of disappointment for Australia was on the netball court as they failed to reach a Common­wealth final for the first time after a shock single-point defeat by Jamaica on Saturday.

Jamaica could not spring another surprise as the Silver Ferns of New Zealand pulled away after a tight first half to claim gold, winning 56-48 in front of a sold-out 14,000 crowd.

Australia did at least salvage bronze with a 68-50 win over England.

The netball court at the Hydro was quickly ripped out to make way for the closing ceremony.

Prince Edward deputised for King Charles III to declare the Games closed after the baton is passed to Ahmedabad.

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Glasgow stepped in to save the 2026 Commonwealth Games, but a slimmed down 10-sport model over the last 10 days has failed to dispel doubts over the future of the event.

First held as the British Empire Games 96 years ago, the event was plunged into crisis in 2023 when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew as hosts over mounting costs.

Having hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow offered a cost-effective solution with existing venues already in place. The Games were delivered at a budget of just 160 million ($216 million) compared to 780 million in Birmingham four years ago.

The Indian city of Ahmedabad will host the next edition, with the programme set to expand once more to between 15 and 17 sports.

Situated two years either side of the Olympic Games, the Commonwealths have often proven to be a launchpad for future stars.

“The Commonwealth Games is where champions are made,” the president of Commonwealth Sport, Dr. Donald Rukare, told AFP.

After storming to 100m gold in one of the Games’ blue riband events, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme said the Commonwealths four years ago had kickstarted his career at the elite level.

“The Commonwealth Games has been like a door opener for me,” said Eseme after running 9.83 seconds despite sodden conditions in Scotland.

“Things started getting going at the last Commonwealth Games with the national record of 10.08. No one in my country ever thought someone from Cameroon was going to run 10.08, I did it in the Commonwealth Games. It was great and you know things have just been going well since.”

Australia may have ran away at the top of the medals table, hoovering up over 171 medals, including 70 golds, followed by England, Canada and India.

But the Commonwealth Games are the chance for the smaller and lesser known of the 74 nations and territories.

Jersey, Dominica and the British Virgin Islands were among those to come away from Glasgow with gold.

“This is where it all started for me, and this is probably where it will end,” said Dominica’s Olympic triple jump champion Thea LaFond. “It feels amazing to be a trailblazer for Dominica.”

MISSING STARS

Commonwealth Sport CEO Katie Sadleir is confident the future of the Games is bright with more potential hosts, led by New Zealand, expressing interest for 2034 and beyond.

The Games’ lack of appeal to athletes was also shown in those who decided not to turn up in Glasgow.

Alongside Kerr, the biggest draw in British athletics, Keely Hodgkinson, prioritised the upcoming European Athletic Championships.

Women’s 100m Olympic champion Julien Alfred and Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh were among the other big names to skip the Games.

A lack of star power was reflected in a low key atmosphere and plenty of empty seats, in stark contrast to 12 years ago when 1.3 million tickets were sold in the same city.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2026