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Excited and ambitious athletes from the 72 Commonwealth Games associations around the world have descended on Birmingham, England, to contest sporting glory from Thursday to August 8.
The event features 280 finals across 20 sports codes, with Australia (2 415 medals) and England (2 144) having been the most successful nations at the Games to date and once again expected to dominate the medal table.
South Africa (389), Kenya (237), and Nigeria (236) are the most decorated nations from the African continent and 2022 presents them with the opportunity to close the gap to those ahead of them on the all-time medal table.
The “father” of the Commonwealth Games, Melville Marks Robinson, was inspired by the “spirit of friendly competition” to form the British Empire Games in 1930, which featured 11 nations and six sports.
The Games continued to be held every four years (except for 1942 and 1946 due to WW2) under different guises from 1934 to 1974 until it underwent its final transformation in 1978 to become the Commonwealth Games.
There is also competition for para-athletes, and Pietermaritzburg swimmer Alani Ferreira is currently part of Team SA, which Bradley Robinson from Lynwood Bowling Club in the city is also a proud part of.
In Birmingham, the athletics programme will be peppered with star power, with the likes of Jamaican sprint trio Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson set to delight the fans.
The long and middle-distance runners of Africa are set to shine on a grand stage yet again while stars Ferdinand Omayala and Wayde van Niekerk will be looking to overcome World Championships disappointments.
The likes of Zach Stubblety-Cook, Molly O’Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown will be on the hunt to further their personal medal hauls in the pool, while Chad le Clos will be gunning to become the most decorated Commonwealth Games athlete.
Tatjana Schoenmarker will return to a major stage for the first time since breaking the 200m breaststroke world record at Tokyo 2020 and will be hoping to add the Commonwealth Games medal to her trophy cabinet.
Cricket will be making a return to the Games for the first time in 24 years in the form of a women’s T20 tournament. South Africa, England, Australia and India will be the most favoured of the eight nations to reach the semi-finals while New Zealand and Pakistan will be out to spoil their plans.
Last time out, England ended Australia and New Zealand’s domination of the netball tournament. The three will again likely be the semi-final contenders while the last spot in the final four will be left for the likes of SA and Jamaica to fight over.
SA broke New Zealand’s stranglehold on the Rugby Sevens gold medal in 2014, but the Kiwis returned to the throne in 2018, with the South Africans finishing fourth.
The Blitzboks will be aiming to once again unseat the New Zealanders, but will have to go through the likes of 2018 silver and bronze medalists Fiji and England, as well as Australia.
That is just the tip of the iceberg, with action from sports like badminton, 3×3 basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, shooting, squash, table tennis, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling all on show in Birmingham.
“The Second City” of England will play host to the more than 5 000 athletes looking to etch their names into the history books.
Athletes and officials alike will be housed at three campuses close to the competition venues at the University of Birmingham, the University of Warwick and the NEC Hotel.
The newly-renovated Alexander Stadium is the centrepiece of the competition venues with both the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the athletics programme all taking place inside its walls.
Elsewhere, the Arena Birmingham, Edgebaston Cricket Ground, Smithfield, Sutton Park, Victoria Square and the University of Birmingham will all play host to the athletes in some capacity.
The action will not be confined to Birmingham itself as venues throughout the West Midlands Region have been prepared for a variety of sporting codes while the track cycling competition will play out at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London.
HOW TO WATCH
The Games coverage will be broadcast on SS Variety 1-4, SS Action, SS Grandstand (select events) and Blitz (breaking news and highlights). The SuperSport and LaLiga and Football channels will be re-branded Commonwealth Games 1 and 2.
The Maximo (Portuguese) channels will also feature extensive Games coverage in Portuguese.
Besides the traditional linear programming, there will be OTT (streaming), primarily for overflow content, plus DStv Catch Up (all medal events and daily highlights), and social elements across SuperSport’s many social platforms.
Every medal event will have short format highlights; and there will also be reactions to any breaking news and records, particularly with regards to African athletes.
SuperSport will also have embedded crews with the Proteas netball team and the SA women’s hockey side, both medal contenders.
- Additional reporting by Witness reporter
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