Manx athletes 'absolutely raring to go' at games

Athletes representing the Isle of Man at the 2026 Commonwealth Games are excited for a "fantastic 10 days of competition".

Members of the 27-strong Manx team were among 74 nations taking part in the opening ceremony at the Hydro in Glasgow on Thursday evening.

Leading the squad into the arena were baton bearer Laura Kinley and flag bearer Alfie Bezance.

Swimmer Kinley, who is attending her fourth games, said the feeling of being part of the event was "unbelievable".

"You can't really describe the atmosphere in the stadium, but it's so nice to put the Isle of Man flag on the map and walk out representing your own country as well," she said.

Since arriving at the venue on Monday, Kinley said she had been "trying to stay as relaxed as possible" and had now done her "last few training sessions" ahead of competing.

With her first event in the pool on Saturday, the swimmer said she would now "start getting in the zone and locking in for competing".

The island's team is set to compete across six sports at the scaled back event, which was moved to the Scottish city after the planned host – Victoria in Australia – pulled out over rising cost projections.

Taking part in his first games, Bezance, said being chosen as flagbearer meant although he was "really excited" some nerves had kicked in.

Representing the island in para-powerlifting, the 17-year-old said his preparations for the event had been "good" despite other pressures during the period, including preparations for university.

"I've had a lot of exams and stuff, so there's obviously been some disruptions… But other than that, training's been really good," he said.

"Now we've got the power bench over to the Isle of Man, I've been able to properly lock in and focus on it for the Commonwealth Games," he said, adding: "I'm really hopeful for it."

Bezance is set to complete for the first time at the games on Friday evening.

Heading up the Manx delegation is Chef de Mission Erica Bellhouse, who said all the team had been "really excited and really excited to get the Isle of Man flag raised and ready ahead of the games".

She said the change in host nation means "it's a bit of a different games and we've been warned that it's a different games".

"But actually now we're here I have to say we're in Commonwealth mode. It's fantastic, the facilities are amazing," she said, adding that the athletes were "just absolutely raring to go now".

Reflecting on why the event was special, Kinley said it was "kind of that next level up and it's the highest level of competition we can represent the Isle of Man at".

"I think it makes it a little bit more special being able to compete against the big countries like Australia, England, Canada. So yeah, really exciting," she added.

The 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games runs until 2 August.

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