Yaxley bowler carries local hopes in the Commonwealth Games as Gunthorpe gymnast saves himself for the World Championships
Yaxley bowler Nick Brett carries local hopes into the Commonwealth Games which start in Glasgow on Thursday (July 23).
The singles and pairs competitions are being played indoors for the first time with teams of three men and three women competing for the medals.
With preparations going on all summer, it has meant Brett has not been allowed by Bowls England to play outdoors this summer.
Brett has seven World Indoor titles in singles and pairs to his name and won a first Commonwealth Games gold in the men’s triples in Birmingham in 2022, an event that is not part of the 2026 Games.
Brett is part of a three-man England team alongside Devon-based pair Sam Tolchard and Jamie Walker. He will partner Tolchard in the men’s pairs event.
England’s campaign starts on Tuesday, July 28 with a match against the Falkland Islands. England also tackle Botswana, the Cook Islands, Namibia and India in group matches.
The semi-finals then take place on August 1, with the finals scheduled for August 2.
Peterborough’s gymnastic star Jake Jarman is by-passing the Commonwealth Games to concentrate on his bid for World Championship glory in Rotterdam in October. Jarman also kept away from the European Championships earlier this year.
Jarman is a two-time world champion – on vault in 2023 and floor in 2025 – and took floor bronze at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Jarman won four golds – team, all-around, floor, and vault.
Peterborough-born cyclist Sophie Lewis is representing England in the Games. She grew up in Hertfordshire and won a bronze medal in the women's team pursuit representing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and has subsequently won European Championship medals.