{"id":725262,"date":"2026-08-03T01:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T01:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/725262\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T01:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T01:35:08","slug":"australias-cyclists-complete-mammoth-medal-haul-at-end-of-commonwealth-games-commonwealth-games-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/725262\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s cyclists complete mammoth medal haul at end of Commonwealth Games | Commonwealth Games 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s track cyclists have transformed pure pain, near-retirement and woefully-timed ill health into a dominating Commonwealth Games<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n

Georgia Baker\u2019s history-equalling exploits earned her the honour of carrying the flag at the closing ceremony. She was stunned when team chef de mission Petria Thomas broke the news to her in the middle of the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, moments after finishing runner-up to teammate Alyssa Polites in the women\u2019s elimination race.<\/p>\n

Baker had wondered whether any of this would be possible, given she was sick for a crucial training camp only days out from the Games. Polites was emotional, given she nearly retired from the sport and took time off because of ill health. Instead, she and Baker are key members of the women\u2019s track endurance group that won the team pursuit in Glasgow and are targeting the Los Angeles Olympics with growing confidence.<\/p>\n

Also on day four of Games cycling, Leigh Hoffman won the 1km time trial with a Games-record time. Just as Baker joined the select company of Anna Meares, Matt Glaetzer and Brad McGee as Australian cycling\u2019s five-time Commonwealth Games gold medallists, Hoffman also made history. His three gold and one silver made him the first Australian cyclist to win four medals at a Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n

England\u2019s silver medalist Joseph Truman with Leigh Hoffman and Tayte Ryan of Australia. Photograph: Dean Lewins\/AAP<\/p>\n

Tara Neyland won her second gold of the Games in the women\u2019s C4-C5 1km time trial as fellow Australian Erin Normoyle took bronze. Oli Bleddyn won silver in the men\u2019s points race \u2013 the last event of the Games \u2013 and Kristina Clonan took bronze in the women\u2019s keirin.<\/p>\n

All up, Australia won 171 medals, featuring 70 gold, that easily topped the Glasgow standings. England were a distant second with 29 gold and 110 medals. The Australian cycling squad\u2019s solid campaign contributed 10 gold and 28 medals in total.<\/p>\n

Thomas said the emotional hugs from Polites and fellow elimination rider Sophie Edwards after she broke the flag bearer news was a good indication of why Baker was given the honour.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can at least see from her the way her teammates reacted how respected she is within this group of cyclists, so I think we we made a good choice there,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

Given how much her teammates backed her in for the team pursuit and then the scratch race gold medal, despite the illness, it was fitting that Baker ended up with a medal. The two Australians worked over Canadian Maggie Coles-Lyster at the end of the race, with Polites dashing clear as Baker ensured their quinella.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe deserves this gold medal so much,\u201d Baker said. \u201cAlyssa\u2019s worked so hard for me this week – it\u2019s the least I can do, to repay the favour. I don\u2019t want to take that away from her at all. The girls really backed me [for the team pursuit], my experience I suppose \u2013 \u2018you can do it, G\u2019 \u2013 I levelled up and did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came Thomas\u2019s news. \u201cI felt like I was in a bit of a dream, with Alyssa winning the gold and this on top of it. It was a really emotional moment,\u201d Baker said. \u201cI\u2019m just really proud, one of the biggest honours of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Polites, gold in the team pursuit and elimination was proof perfect that her comeback from illness had been worth it. \u201cI thought I was going to quit. These girls kept me on the pedals. I can\u2019t thank them enough,\u201d she said through tears.<\/p>\n

Hoffman reflected on the brutality of the \u201ckilo\u201d after clocking 58.530 seconds to break the Games record. Teammate Tayte Ryan won the bronze medal. \u201cYou don\u2019t feel human. My legs are still burning … 58 seconds of pure pain,\u201d Hoffman said. I\u2019m proud I didn\u2019t spew.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s track cyclists have transformed pure pain, near-retirement and woefully-timed ill health into a dominating Commonwealth Games campaign.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":725263,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-725262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}