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Glasgow 2026 Day One - Morning Session Round-Up
27/07/2026 00:00, In Blog / Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games - Latest News /
Three Welsh athletes were in action during the first session of Commonwealth Games track and field action at Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium on Monday morning.
Sprinters Jeremiah Azu and Olivia Breen safely negotiated their 100m first round heats, but Amber Simpson narrowly failed to progress to Tuesday night’s hammer final.
First to stride onto the newly laid state-of-the-art Mondo track was Wales’ fastest ever sprinter Azu in round one of the men’s 100m.
The Cardiff Athletics man lined up for the start of heat three looking resplendent in the bright red Welsh Joma kit with Cymru emblazoned in white across his chest.
A cool breeze blowing light drizzle across Scotstoun would have been familiar to the Welsh athlete despite the recent heatwave at home as he took his place in lane five.
The welcome which greeted Azu’s name when it was read out by the stadium announcer confirmed his standing as one of the UK’s most popular sprinters.
Traditionally a fast starter, the 2025 World Indoor 60m champion enjoyed a typically rapid opening phase which put him ahead of the field in the early stages.
And there he stayed, easing down in the closing stages, looking across to the trackside clock to see he had won in 10.10 with a plus 1.7 tailwind. Duane Asemota of Canada was second in 10.16 with Dineth Weeraratna, of Sri Lanka, third in 10.33.
The 25-year-old looked relaxed and happy with his morning’s work as he stopped briefly to pose for photographs in front of the large bank of cameramen before leaving the track to prepare for the races to come.
Asked how he felt the heat had gone, Azu, who posted the sixth fastest time of the morning, said:
“Yeah, it was good. Smooth. I’m happy with it. Simple.”
Looking ahead to the semi-finals on Tuesday evening, he added:
“I’m confident, that run put me in the right position. I think that’s what you need the heats for. So, we’ll come back again tomorrow.
“Hopefully it’s a bit warmer! But we’ll just get the job done.”
Azu was also buoyed by the support he received in the stadium.
“It was cool. Loads of Welsh flags, loads of Welsh support. I think even the other nations might be showing a bit more support because they're used to maybe seeing my name on the British vest.”
Next to sample the Scotstoun Stadium atmosphere was hammer thrower Simpson (Wrexham AAC) who was greeted with cries of “Oggy, Oggy, Oggy” from the Welsh contingent when introduced to the crowd.
The 27-year-old had to wait patiently for her first effort having been drawn last of the 14 competitors to take to the throwing circle in the qualification competition.
Following a foul with her first attempt, Simpson had to wait a little longer still for a women’s 100m heat to be completed before she could take her second throw, which was another foul.
Following a chat with her coach before her next attempt, Simpson stepped into the circle knowing she had to register a distance to stay in the competition.
Despite showing huge composure and sending the hammer out to 59.14m, the distance unfortunately wasn’t enough to progress to the final as Simpson finished agonisingly one place outside of the top 12 to qualify.
Rounding off the Welsh performances on the first morning was Birmingham Commonwealth Games 100m gold medallist and Team Wales captain Breen.
Lining up in heat two of the women’s 100m T38 first round, the hugely popular athlete also received a warm welcome from the enthusiastic Scotstoun crowd.
A close and extremely hard-fought race saw a determined Breen safely qualifying in second place for Monday night’s final as she equalled her season’s best time of 13.05. The heat was won by Australia’s Rhiannon Clarke in 12.96.
The Welsh athlete’s time was the third fastest of the qualifiers going into the final later in the day.
The City of Portsmouth sprinter and long jumper Olivia Breen, who celebrated her 30th birthday the day before competing said afterwards:
“I’m content, but I know there’s more to come in the final so I didn’t want to go all out in the heat. I was just like ‘I’m saving myself for the finals to keep my energy’.”
Asked what she was hoping for in the final, Breen who famously produced a huge beaming smile when she crossed the line in Birmingham, said: “Crossing that line with a smile and hopefully a medal.”