Gold, medals and historic firsts: Cardiff Met's Glasgow 2026 story

Four medals, a Commonwealth sprint final, personal bests and a historic wheelchair basketball debut. Cardiff Met's students, alumni, staff and sporting community made their presence felt across Glasgow 2026.

Across ten days of competition, athletes connected to Cardiff Met competed in athletics, boxing, judo, netball, swimming, weightlifting and 3x3 wheelchair basketball, backed by officials, judges, team staff and a gymnastics reserve. The University's final medal tally: gold for Aled Siôn Davies, silver for Funmi Oduwaiye, and bronze for Rosie Eccles and Jack Knight, four of the 31 medals won by Wales at the Games.

Davies and Oduwaiye deliver on a golden night

The defining moment of Cardiff Met's Games came at Scotstoun Stadium, where former student Aled Siôn Davies defended his Commonwealth title in the men's discus F42-44/F61-64. Davies saved his best for the moment it mattered, throwing 48.38m for gold. The result adds to his title at Birmingham 2022 and silver at Glasgow 2014, and extends one of Welsh para sport's most decorated Commonwealth careers.

There was more success in the women's discus F42-44/F61-64, where Cardiff Met-connected thrower Funmi Oduwaiye took silver on her senior Commonwealth Games debut. Oduwaiye briefly led the competition before Nigeria's Goodness Nwachukwu produced a world-record throw to claim gold. The silver marks another rapid step forward in Oduwaiye's international career.

The same session brought two strong fifth-place finishes: former student Harrison Walsh recorded a season's best in the men's para discus alongside Davies, while former student, staff member and coach Adele Nicoll threw 16.33m in the women's shot put final.

Eccles adds another Commonwealth medal

Cardiff Met alumna Rosie Eccles had a Games rich in significance from start to finish. The Birmingham 2022 champion carried the Welsh flag at the Opening Ceremony, leading Team Wales into the OVO Hydro alongside bowls athlete Daniel Salmon.

In the ring, Eccles stopped South Africa's Samukelisiwe Ncube in the second round of their women's 70kg quarter-final to guarantee herself a medal. Her title defence ended in the semi-finals against India's Arundhati Choudhary, but bronze still gave Eccles a medal at her third consecutive Commonwealth Games.

Current student Daniel Pitt also impressed on his Commonwealth Games debut, beating Samoa's Dee Ioapo and Papua New Guinea's Kua Gunua Mua by unanimous decision before his campaign ended against Australia's Paul Trainor in the men's 80kg quarter-finals. It was two wins and a place in the last eight for the Cardiff Met SCRAM student.

Knight earns relay bronze

Jack Knight became Cardiff Met's first medallist of Glasgow 2026 through the Welsh men's 4x200m freestyle relay. Knight swam in the heats alongside Harry Milne, Lewis Fraser and Kieran Bird to help Wales qualify for the final; although the team was reshuffled for the medal race, Knight still received bronze as a member of the squad after Wales finished behind Australia and England.

It capped a memorable debut for Knight, who also raced in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay and reached the semi-finals of the 100m backstroke, finishing 14th overall.

Azu reaches the 100m final

Jeremiah Azu produced one of the standout non-medal performances of the Games, reaching the men's 100m final. He won his opening heat in 10.10 seconds, then ran a season's best of 10.00 in the semi-finals before finishing fifth in the final in 10.03 — matching his Birmingham 2022 placing.

Ellie Bowen also had a Games to celebrate, throwing a personal-best 6.48m in the women's F57 shot put to finish sixth. Alongside the medals for Davies and Oduwaiye and the fifth-place finishes for Walsh and Nicoll, those results underline the depth of Cardiff Met's athletics representation in Glasgow.

History made in wheelchair basketball

Cardiff Met Archers were central to a historic first Commonwealth Games appearance for Wales in 3x3 wheelchair basketball. Dan May and Will Bishop played for the men's team, with May scoring the decisive basket in a dramatic 14-13 opening win over Malaysia; Wales also ran South Africa and Scotland close before exiting to Australia in the play-in round.

The women's squad featured current student Libi Phillips, Archers Women's Premier League player Chloe Morgan and national league player Molly Lander. Wales won 16-1 against India and 17-1 against Nigeria before facing Scotland and Canada later in the competition. Alumna Beth Jones managed both squads — another significant Cardiff Met thread in a landmark moment for Welsh wheelchair basketball.

Netball: Cardiff Met's influence throughout

Alumnae Bethan Dyke, Georgia Rowe and Phillipa Yarranton all played for Wales, with Dyke captaining her country at a fourth Commonwealth Games. Wales beat Trinidad and Tobago 74-30 in a difficult Pool B campaign that ended with a tenth-place finish following the classification match against Tonga.

Cardiff Met's reach extended to officiating too: international umpire Alison "Ali" Harrison took charge of fixtures throughout the tournament. Beyond Team Wales, Senior Lecturer Dr Anna Stembridge coached England to the semi-finals, where defeats to New Zealand and Australia left her side fourth.

Judo: repechage appearances for Barnikel and Devall

Ashleigh Barnikel and Holly Devall both competed for Wales in judo at the SEC. Barnikel reached the repechage in the women's under-48kg division after her quarter-final defeat to Scotland's Summer Shaw. Devall opened her under-70kg campaign with an ippon win over Mauritius's Noemie Evenor and reached the quarter-finals, finishing seventh on her Commonwealth Games debut.

Contribution beyond the field of play

Cardiff Met's presence in Glasgow went well beyond competition results. Staff member Liz Lewis served as an artistic gymnastics judge, while Daniel Winterborne travelled as reserve for the Wales men's artistic gymnastics team.

Students shaped Team Wales's identity and coverage too: BA Fashion Design students worked with Team Wales and Specialist Sports on the athletes' leisurewear collection, and Cardiff Met Sport produced the official Glasgow 2026 Team Wales Sticker Book, celebrating all 115 Welsh athletes. Student journalists and videographers reported from Team Wales House and the venues, bringing supporters closer to the Games.

From gold and silver in the stadium to bronze in the pool and the ring, Cardiff Met's athletes delivered performances to remember. Just as importantly, the University's fingerprints were visible across coaching, officiating, team management, design and media, proof of Cardiff Met's growing contribution to Welsh sport and its ambition to be recognised as Wales' Sporting University.