HOME NATIONS INTEREST IN BIGGEST PARA ATHLETICS COMMONWEALTH GAMES PROGRAMME

The 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast will see its largest number of para athletics events within the programme over the next eight days, and there is plenty of interest from the home nations to watch out for.

On the opening day in the Carrara Stadium, world champion Olivia Breen (coach: Aston Moore) will seek to add the T38 long jump Commonwealth title to her collection, as she competes for Team Wales. There is further home nation interest in the event from England’s Molly Kingsbury – the youngest member of their athletics team – and Scotland’s Amy Carr (Geoffrey Barraclough).

Hollie Arnold (David Turner) – Paralympic and world champion in the F46 javelin – seeks to take home the gold for the Welsh team on Monday 9 April. Compatriot Rhys Jones (Christian Malcolm) and England’s Amar Aichoun (Clarence Callendar) take on the T38 100m on the same evening.

Flying the flag for Scotland on day three of the athletics is Sammi Kinghorn (Ian Mirfin) – double world champion in the sprints – who goes in the T54 1500m alongside England’s Nikki Emerson (Ian Thompson). Also on that evening is the men’s final where world medallist Richard Chiassaro (Jenni Banks) competes alongside English compatriots Nathan Maguire (Ste Hoskins) and Dillon Labrooy (Jenny Archer) with Northern Ireland’s Jack Agnew (Heather Ardis) making his senior Games debut.

On Wednesday, Paralympic, world and European medallist Maria Lyle (Jamie Bowie) – representing Team Scotland – takes on the T35 100m alongside England’s Daphne Schrager and Maria Verdeille (Catherine Walker). Over in the field, European medallist Josh Bain (Kevin Bain) begins his campaign in the F38 shot put final.

Multiple global medallist Sophie Hahn (Joe McDonnell) flies the flag for England in the T38 women’s final, with teammate Katrina Hart (Rob Ellchuk) and Olivia Breen proving the competition from the home nations. Following them swiftly on the track is the T12 100m for athletes with a visual impairment. England’s Zac Shaw (McDonnell) and the ever-improving James Ledger (Malcolm) from Wales provide the home nation interest.

On a night of headline finals on Friday night, England’s James Arnott (Ryan Freckleton) and Wales’s Morgan Jones (Malcolm) will be looking to wow the crowd in the T47 100m final on the penultimate session in the Carrara stadium.

Fast forwarding the Sunday 15 April (or Saturday night in the UK), the wheelchair marathons take centre stage with the men’s and women’s T54 races. Jade Jones (Thompson) – who has already won gold for Team England in the Para Triathlon – will line up alongside Emerson and Kinghorn; the latter racing only her second ever marathon on the Gold Coast. The men’s field features a trio of English athletes in John Smith (Archer), Callum Hall and Simon Lawson (both Thompson).

A daily schedule of times, dates and start lists for each event can be found here.