Shirtless heroes, bucket hats and gold: reimagined Games find their glow

Jul 24, 2026 - 21:40

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Shirtless heroes, bucket hats and gold: reimagined Games find their glow

Some big stars are absent, but day one in Glasgow showed the Commonwealth Games have retained plenty of soul

There will be many extraordinary sights at these Commonwealth Games in Glasgow over the next 10 days. But few, you imagine, will top that of a volunteer ripping his T-shirt off and nosediving under the water, without goggles, to fix a broken rope while Adam Ramsay-Peaty waited on at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

The crowd, who had watched other volunteers fail to deal with the problem using large nets, cheered. And, after a 10-minute delay, Ramsay-Peaty was back smoking his rivals in the heats of the 100m breaststroke.