Commonwealth Games: Magic moments and what ifs for Wales in Birmingham

Commonwealth Games 2022: Olivia Breen wins gold in T37/T38 100m

By Tom Brown
BBC Sport Wales

Team Wales ended the 2022 Commonwealth Games with 28 medals - eight gold, six silver and 14 bronze.

The total was eight short of the record of 36 set at the previous two Games.

The team also failed to match the 10 golds they had won four years ago in Gold Coast, although the eight they won in Birmingham is still one of their best hauls in history.

There were plenty of memorable moments. From Olivia Breen's golden smile to 75-year-old-Gordon Llewellyn becoming the nation's oldest Commonwealth medallist.

Some sports like cycling and boxing excelled. Others were left wondering, what if?

But it seems Wales has unearthed a handful of young talents who look on course to push on to the next Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024.

BBC Sport Wales looks back at Team Wales' time in Birmingham.

The moments of magic

On the first night of the track and field events, Olivia Breen had the race of her life. The 26-year-old out-sprinted double Paralympic champion and long-time rival Sophie Hahn to gold in the women's T37/38 100m final.

Her smile lit up Birmingham's revamped Alexander Stadium as she crossed the line for what arguably became the defining image of Wales' Commonwealths.

Commonwealth Games silver medal is the 'icing on the cake' for Non Stanford

Former world champion triathlete Non Stanford said before the Games that winning a medal for Wales was her 'ultimate dream'.

Her first chance came and went in the women's individual race, as she finished sixth. But then Wales' mixed relay team of Stanford, Dominic Coy, Olivia Mathias and Iestyn Harrett pulled out something special.

The relatively inexperienced team at international level were leaving Olympians behind them as they set up Stanford for an emotional sprint finish to silver, which she confirmed afterwards would be her last major race.

Some of Team Wales' best results at the Birmingham Games actually came 140 miles away in London.

The track cycling was held at the Lee Valley Velopark, the home of so many memorable moments at the London Olympics.

Wales left with six medals, including gold for para tandem cyclist James Ball and two brilliant bronzes for sprint sensation Emma Finucane.

Wales win first gold with Ball tandem triumph

At the age of 75, Gordon Llewellyn won silver in the lawn bowls, alongside Julie Thomas in the para mixed pairs, to become Wales' oldest Commonwealth medallist. Three days later Anna Hursey, 59 years his junior, won bronze in the table tennis.

And then there were the boxers. The class of 2022 put on a show, winning two golds, one silver and three bronze medals to surpass the sport's previous best Games in 1958.

The two champions, Ioan Croft and Rosie Eccles, will be ones to watch ahead of the next Olympics, but all six medallists impressed throughout the week.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Rosie Eccles wins gold for Wales in women's light middleweight

Para glory

Arguably Team Wales' biggest success story of the Birmingham Games was the strength of its para athletes.

Nineteen were selected, a record number, and they came back with eight medals, including half the team's overall golds of four.

As well as Olivia Breen, Aled Sion Davies also won gold in the para athletics. James Ball took track cycling gold and silver, while Joshua Stacey became Wales' first Commonwealth champion in table tennis.

Commonwealth Games 2022: 'I put everything into this!' - Aled Davies wins discus gold

Harrison Walsh could not hide his emotion at winning F42-44/F61-64 discus bronze behind Davies, while 18-year-old Lily Rice, who made her name backflipping wheelchairs, took bronze in the pool just nine months after taking up the sport again.

Then there was that remarkable silver for Llewellyn and Julie Thomas in the para lawn bowls.

What if?

A sliding doors moment came long before the sport even began, when shooting was excluded from the 2022 Games programme.

Wales had won five medals in the sport four years ago, including two golds. Ultimately they were medals Wales failed to make up for elsewhere here.

There were unanswered questions throughout the Games. Swimmer Dan Jervis was a huge gold medal hope in the men's 1500m freestyle, but he was forced to withdraw from the Games due to the ongoing effects of Covid.

'It's never straightforward with me' - Thomas

Geraint Thomas' crash in the men's time trial cost him silver at the very least and he may well have won gold had he stayed on his bike. There were a bucket load of narrow fourths too, from the pool to the velodrome.

Room for improvement

While cycling and boxing excelled with seven and six medals respectively, other sports had a more frustrating time in Birmingham.

For the first time since Cardiff hosted the Games back in 1958, Wales failed to win a weightlifting medal.

Hall 1 at the NEC never came close to the scenes of Gareth Evans dancing around in celebration after winning Wales' first gold of the Games four years ago in Australia.

Swimming and athletics had a mixed time. Teenagers Medi Harris and Lily Rice were rightfully proud of their bronze medals in the pool, but it was only the second time in five Games the sport had not produced a Commonwealth champion.

Athletics did not win any medals outside of its exceptional para sport programme - but the fifth places for 100m sprinter Jeremiah Azu and 1,500m runner Jake Heyward were impressive results in high class fields.

Reasons to be cheerful

The future looks bright for Team Wales as a whole host of young stars look like being on course to make names for themselves in the very near future.

UK men's 100m champion Azu became the first Welshman to reach a men's 100m final since it was counted in metres, not yards.

Heyward broke the Commonwealth Games record in the men's 1500m final but unfortunately so did four others ahead of him, such is the strength of that event these days.

In the pool, teenagers Harris, Rice and Olympic champion Matt Richards could shine in Paris, while cycling sprinters Finucane, Rhian Edmunds and Lowri Thomas looked right at home alongside countless Olympians in the velodrome.

Watch: Ioan Croft wins gold in welterweight final for Wales

Ioan Croft was cheered on to boxing gold by his twin brother Garan, who had won bronze.

Both are establishing themselves on the Great Britain Olympic programme and the 20-year-olds will only go from strength to strength from here.

And you cannot talk about Wales' young stars without mentioning Anna Hursey, the table tennis player who made global headlines four years ago when she was selected for Gold Coast aged just 11.

Now, in 2022, she will be remembered for her achievements not her age as the teenager won bronze alongside Charlotte Carey in the women's doubles.

Commonwealth Games: 'Just so happy' - Wales table tennis pair celebrate historic bronze

Time to say goodbye

No great champion can go on forever and 2022 saw the final appearances in the red of Wales for a number of top stars.

Geraint Thomas won his fourth Commonwealth medal, 16 years after his first, before confirming this would be his last Games for Wales.

Stanford also went out on a high with her triathlon relay silver.

And no Welsh woman has ever been to more Commonwealth Games than Anwen Butten.

The 49-year-old lawn bowler was the team's captain at her sixth Games. Afterwards she announced she would be stepping aside in the sport.

So that was Wales' tale of 2022. Victoria, Australia beckons, where in just under four years they get to do it all again.

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