Commonwealth Games | Glasgow 2026

This summer is set to be huge for Ellie Bowen. At just seventeen years old, she has earned her place at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

She is a seated discus and shot put thrower and says:

“Being selected for the Commonwealth Games is an amazing achievement because it’s been a dream since I was young to represent my country.”

She first started in the sport in 2018 when she was approached at a disability sport open day in Cardiff by Anthony Hughes. Hughes – who died in 2022 – was Performance Director at Disability Sport Wales:

“He asked me if I would like to try wheelchair racing and I did that for around two years and won a bronze and two gold medals at my first competition.”

But, just before the Covid pandemic took hold in the UK, Ellie gave seated shot put, discus and javelin a go:

“And then lockdown happened so everything stopped but when I was able to go back to training, I started throwing as my main sport because I really enjoyed it. I did my first competition in July 2022 and won three golds for seated javelin, discus and shot put and won a trophy for best performance.”

It hasn’t always been easy though:

“In 2024, I felt like giving up but I pushed through and kept going because I have always been determined to follow my dreams in doing what I love. So, I continued training hard and ended up having my breakthrough performance at the School Games and winning gold.”

At just 16, Ellie has already travelled to Dubai with her sport, where she secured her classification to compete internationally. Ellie also loves to play wheelchair basketball.

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