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August 3, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Glasgow: Tearing up over a tattoo is nothing new.<\/p>\n But for Australia\u2019s Commonwealth Games chef de mission Petria Thomas, a visit to a \u201chigh-end\u201d Glasgow tattoo parlour on Sunday was about far more than the sting of fresh ink.<\/p>\n The Olympian and 12-time Commonwealth Games medallist almost broke down in tears on the final day of competition as she revealed she was planning to commemorate Australia\u2019s hugely successful 10-day campaign with a tattoo of the Commonwealth Sport emblem on her ankle.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the result of a lost bet or a promise linked to Australia\u2019s medal haul. Rather, with 70 gold, 45 silver and 56 bronze medals banked, Thomas felt the Games deserved a permanent reminder.<\/p>\n A fierce advocate for the Commonwealth Games, Thomas said the tattoo would sit alongside the Olympic rings she had inked on the same ankle in Atlanta after competing at the 1996 Olympics.<\/p>\n Thomas won nine Commonwealth Games gold medals between 1994 and 2002 before finally breaking through for three Olympic gold medals in Athens in 2004, including an individual title in the 100-metre butterfly.<\/p>\n After Victoria pulled the pin on hosting the Games three years ago<\/a>, there was no guarantee this edition would even take place. Seeing Glasgow step in<\/a> and deliver a successful event, coupled with the logistical challenge of getting such a large Australian team to Scotland, proved emotional for Thomas.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve thought about [a tattoo] for a long time. The Commonwealth Games have played such a big part of my life, as big as the Olympics,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019ve got the Olympic rings on my ankle, so I thought why not get the Commonwealth Sport mark as well. I\u2019ll wear it very proudly.<\/p>\n \u201cHad this not been on, it would have left a huge hole in our sporting calendar. In my younger years, it was the launching pad for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked what the Games meant to her, Thomas paused as she fought back tears.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cSorry. It\u2019s great to be here at these Games,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know whether there would be a Games.\u201d<\/p>\n When Glasgow last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014, Australia failed to top the medal tally for the first time since 1986, prompting an internal review. England rode the momentum of a home Olympics in 2012 to claim 58 gold medals to Australia\u2019s 49, and won the overall medal tally 174 to 137.<\/p>\n This time, the gap could hardly have been more different. Australia finished 41 gold medals ahead of England and 61 medals clear overall.<\/p>\n Related Article Any satisfaction in smashing England by so much?<\/p>\n \u201cWell, there\u2019s always a sense of satisfaction, right? We probably have exceeded expectations,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did have lofty expectations. We made no secret of the fact we\u2019d love to finish on top of the medal tally and we\u2019ve been able to do that convincingly. It\u2019s a credit to this team. Our athletes have done a magnificent job in their sports. I don\u2019t want to go into highlights because I don\u2019t want to miss any.\u201d<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s medal avalanche, however, has again fuelled debate over the competitiveness and relevance of the Commonwealth Games, with one reporter suggesting the Australians may have become \u201cbullies\u201d across a number of sports.<\/p>\n Thomas rejected the characterisation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just good at our sport,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of investment in this team.<\/p>\n \u201cSome may say that [the Commonwealth Games is losing relevance]. Obviously, we\u2019ve been very, very successful and some teams may not have had full-strength teams. With an increased program in 2030 \u2026 and a bit more stability \u2026 I\u2019m pretty confident that countries will be sending their best teams.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas would not be drawn on whether Australia should bid for the 2034 Commonwealth Games, which will follow the 2030 edition in India. But she made no secret of wanting the Games back in Australia one day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not for me to suggest [to state governments they should bid for it] but of course we would love to have the Games back in Australia,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe generally do a great job of hosting big events, and I\u2019m sure our athletes would love to be competing on home soil again as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Get around our Commonwealth Games coverage<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Chef](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7f8f0ec2ea4ad2fc7a43ecf3c69a1f67d9ea8b08.jpeg\")
Chef de Mission Petria Thomas in Glasgow.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d636e06b057f8df03587899cabe668e6fac8f1c7.jpeg\")
Thomas in action at the Sydney Olympics.Dallas Kilponen<\/p>\n![\"Lani](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f4066bd58806461e850a3c8817492441b116a6ed.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785403993_647_3bae5fa21f63eec1103497ea26ef24f57ba1c8f0.png\")
Tom Decent<\/a> is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 3, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":840446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-840445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}