North East Wales

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There were mixed results for Welsh bowlers in the Commonwealth Games evening session in Glasgow.

Ross Owen had opened up Team Wales campaign with a comfortable victory against Pakistan on Thursday, but he slipped to a 2-0 defeat against England's Sam Tolchard, which is an early blow to his hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

Owen will play Robert Simpson from Jamaica on Saturday.

In contrast, Para-mixed pair Steffan James and Julie Thomas celebrated a second win of the day in the B2/B3 section.

Aided by directors John Wilson and Jamie Jones, James and Thomas followed up their success against Australia with a 2-0 victory against England.

The women's pair of Amy Williams and Lauren Gowen also celebrated a second successive with a 2-0 win against Fiji.

Image source, Team Wales

It was a special night for Welsh gymnast Joe Cemlyn-Jones. Not only did his three-month old daughter Hallie watch him compete for the first time, but it turned out to be the last time also as Cemlyn-Jones announced his retirement.

"Genuinely, before each routine I had to stop myself from tearing up a bit, because it wasn't just my little one in the crowd for the very first time, my own daughter," Cemlyn-Jones told BBC Sport Wales.

"It's actually my last ever competition. So it was my last time putting my hand up in front of the judges.

"It's been something special. It's been really emotional. I wanted to go in with a smile, I wanted to end with a smile, and that's what I've done, so I'm happy."

Image source, Team Wales

The Wales men's artistic gymnastics squad of Jacob Edwards, Joe Cemlyn-Jones, Elliot Vernon, Henry Lewis and Alexander Niscoveanu finished a disappointing sixth in the final of the team competition.

Canada claimed victory with England in silver and Australia taking the bronze.

The teams were competing across six disciplines with a view to helping their team towards a medal and securing their own place in the individual final.

They competed on the floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar with the judge's scores based on difficulty and execution.

Vernon and Niscoveanu qualified for the all-round individual final on Sunday after finishing 11th and 12th in qualification.

Vernon also qualified for the parallel bars final, while Niscoveanu will compete in the final of the horizontal bar.

The team final was overshadowed by a serious injury to English gymnast Gabriel Langton, who was carried off for treatment after suffering a nasty fall on the horizontal bar.

The women's team competition is on Saturday.

Image source, Team Wales

There was other Welsh action in the pool tonight apart from the silver medal won by Ela Letton-Jones.

The women's 4x100m freestyle squad of Theodora Taylor, Meghan Higgs, Rebecca Sutton and Sophie Davies finished in the final in a time of three minutes, 39.81 seconds - a Welsh record by two seconds.

Australia claimed gold, while England and South Africa won silver and bronze respectively.

Taylor replaced Medi Harris in the quartet that qualified third in the morning session.

It was a busy day for Taylor who just failed to make the 50m butterfly final after finishing fifth in her semi-final and qualifying 10th fastest overall.

Josh Inglis failed to qualify for the 100m breaststroke final after finishing sixth in his semi-final.

Image source, Team Wales

Millie Bayliss has withdrawn from the Team Wales squad for the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of injury.

Bayliss was one of eight individuals in the judo squad initially selected by Team Wales for the showpiece event in Glasgow.

"I am devastated to be missing Glasgow," said Bayliss.

"It was something I had worked so hard for and dreamed about for a long time, so it is incredibly difficult to accept.

"This is just one chapter in my career and I am determined to recover and come back stronger."

It is the latest withdrawal after weightlifter Maddy Connelly was forced out of Glasgow because of injury.

"We are incredibly disappointed for Millie," said Team Wales chef de mission Gethin Jones.

"To earn selection for a Commonwealth Games is the result of years of hard work, commitment and sacrifice, so to have that opportunity taken away is heart-breaking."

There are now 113 athletes competing for Team Wales with 65 women and 48 men involved in the 10 sports.

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Para-bowlers Julie Thomas and Steffan James began their Commonwealth Games campaign with a stunning comeback tie-break victory against Australia in the B2/B3 category.

Thomas and James lost the opening set 4-2 before levelling things in the second set by winning 6-3. This forced a tie-break end and Wales triumphed 2-0.

James, who is playing in his first Commonwealth Games, said: "We were really chuffed and excited to have got it over the line.

"It was amazing. I am so fortunate to have the support and backing of my family here and friends back home who are following the Games."

Thomas has won a silver and bronze at the past two Games.

"It was brilliant," said Thomas, who took up bowls in 2014 after losing her sight.

"It is a very cut-throat format but we just have to accept it is another end and play as best as you can."

James and Thomas are aided by directors James Jones and John Wilson, who is the oldest member of Team Wales at 72.

The team are back in action against England on Friday evening at 20:40 BST.

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As well as the earlier exploits of Ela Letton-Jones, other Welsh swimmers were in Commonwealth Games action in the pool in Glasgow this morning.

Wales women qualified third fastest for Friday night's 4x100m freestyle final, but the men's team were disqualified in their heat and miss out on an opportunity to win a medal.

Tyler Melbourne-Smith was punished after leaving his block early on the third leg.

The Wales women's relay team will be boosted by the inclusion of promising teenager Theodora Taylor, who sat out the semi-final after earlier qualifying for the 50m butterfly semi-finals.

Taylor, 17, is expected to replace one of Medi Harris, Sophie Daves, Megan Higgs or Rebecca Sutton, who all swam well to give the team a shot at a medal.

Joshua Inglis also qualified for the men's 100m breaststroke semi-finals with a time of 1:02:23 in the heats.

Image source, Team Wales

Teenage para-swimmer Ela Letton-Jones had made a stunning start in her bid to win the first Team Wales medal of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The 19-year-old from from Y Felinheli in Gwynedd finished second in the heat of the women's S13 100m freestyle to ease through to Friday night's final which takes place at 19:23 BST.

Letton-Jones recorded a time of 1:04.73 behind Australian Jenna Jones, who will be the gold medal favourite after her time of 1:04.67.

"I'm happy with my performance," said Letton-Jones.

"I wanted to get the job done this morning. It felt like I was just on adrenaline because I could hear the whole crowd.

"It's been such a build-up towards this race, it's kind of crazy.

"It's special and making me even more excited to race tonight."

Image source, Team Wales

As we wait for the action to start in Glasgow for the Welsh athletes, just a reminder of what is at stake generally today.

There are 14 golds up for grabs with nine in swimming and Para-swimming, four in Para-powerlifting and one in artistic gymnastics.

We wait to see whether Team Wales will have a podium position by the end of the opening day.