Neah Evans (Cycling)
Also a qualified vet, Evans took a silver and bronze home from the last Commonwealth Games and won the Madison (with Laura Kenny) at the British National Championships this year, as well as the individual pursuit and the national points titles.
Birmingham medal results so far: 3,000m team pursuit bronze, individual points race silver.
Jack Carlin (Cycling)
Paisley-born sprint cyclist has a clutch of medals from the Olympics, Worlds, and Commonwealth Games but no gold as yet. Three titles at British Championships in March mark him out as a major contender in Birmingham.
Birmingham medal results so far: Keirin silver, sprint bronze
James Heatly (Diving)
Despite being born in Winchester, Heatly competes for Scotland – following in the footsteps of his grandfather Sir Peter Heatly, who won three Commonwealth (then the British Empire Games) golds in the 1950s before becoming chairman of the Commonwealth Games committee later in his life.
Duncan Scott (Swimming)
Part of the triumphant 4x200m freestyle relay quartet at Tokyo 2020, and winner of three further medals in Japan, thus becoming the first Brit to bring four medals back from an Olympics. Missed recent Worlds due to Covid; if fully recovered, will surely add to his seven Commonwealth medals so far.
Birmingham medal results so far: 200m freestyle gold, 400m individual medley bronze, 100m freestyle bronze, 4x200m freestyle bronze, 200m individual medley gold, 4x100m medley bronze.
Team Wales
Geraint Thomas (Cycling)
Ageless cycling great proved he still has the goods when finishing on the podium in this year’s Tour de France, although he admitted he would not celebrate quite so hard as he might have done years ago, with one eye on delivering for Wales in Birmingham. Unfortunately a crash early on damaged his chances in the time trial and he had to settle for bronze.
Birmingham medal results so far: Cycling time-trial bronze
Anwen Butten (Lawn Bowls)
Butten takes her place for a remarkable sixth Commonwealth Games, having first competed in the event in 2002, where she won a bronze in the pairs event. Her mother was also an international lawn bowler.
Natalie Powell (Judo)
The 2014 Commonwealth Games champion at 78kg, Powell became the first British judoka to be ranked world number one. Her girlfriend Sanne van Dijke is also a top judoka, and is an Olympic bronze medallist.
Rosie Eccles (Boxing)
Won welterweight silver in the Gold Coast, losing on a split decision, and unlucky again when she got a virus that left her dramatically weakened on the right side of her body – and this for a woman known as ‘Right-Hand Rosie’ due to her punching power. She vows that her time is now.
Hannah Powell (Weightlifting)
The British record holder at 45kg, the pint-sized lifter grew up in Birmingham. She now competes at under-49kg, and is the Welsh record holder at that weight.
Daniel Jervis (Swimming)
Devoutly Christian Jervis is zeroing in on 1500m glory in the Commonwealth Games: he took bronze in 2014 and silver in 2018. He came out recently and says he wants to be a role model for young gay athletes.
Team Northern Ireland
Rhys McClenaghan (Gymnastics)
The 23-year-old from County Down won gold on the pommel horse at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, beating Max Whitlock.
Through no fault of his own, was at the centre of a row with the International Gymnastics Federation prior to this games, when the IGF said he could not compete for Northern Ireland because he had previously competed for Ireland. After angry intervention from politicians including Leo Varadkar, citing the Good Friday Agreement, the federation backed down.
Birmingham medal results so far: Pommel horse silver.
