Australia is a Commonwealth Games powerhouse. Since the Games’ first edition in 1930 – back when they were known as the British Empire Games – the Australian delegation has topped the medal count on 13 occasions. Australia leads the all-time Games medal count by over 200 gold medals, with a total haul of 932 golds, compared to England, the next best with 714. Australia’s total is just shy of double that of third-placed Canada.
All of which means history favours the Australians when the latest edition, the 2022 Commonwealth Games, begin in Birmingham on Thursday. Recent form will favour Australian athletes too – the nation had its equal-best Olympic medal haul less than a year ago, in Tokyo. Here are 10 athletes, teams and events to watch as the Australians go for gold in the weeks ahead.
