Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: What to watch out for on day 1
A packed schedule of sporting events gets underway
Last updated 29th Jul 2022
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games officially kicks off today with a packed schedule of sporting events.
A total of 14 events take place today, including hockey, netball, and rugby.
And it all kicks of at 8:30am, with the first session of the Lawn Bowls at Victoria Park in Leamington.
Events will be held in Birmingham, Coventry, Cannock and London throughout the games.
A full list of events, time and locations can be found here.
Sixteen Gold medals on offer
Day one of the games will see 16 gold medals up for grabs.
Dame Laura Kenny's the big name in action among the home nations on day one of competition.
Britain's most successful female Olympian goes for England in track cycling's team pursuit - which is being held at the London velodrome.
England will have high hopes for the sprint triathlon event. Men's Olympic silver medallist, Alex Yee, and women’s silver medallist Georgia Taylor-Brown will take part. The event will take place in Sutton Park, in Birmingham.
In addition, to the sprint triathlon event, England will have high expectations for the men’s team gymnastics.
Four years ago, at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, England won the gold medal and they remain favours for this year’s games.
The gymnastics event will take place at Arena Birmingham.
England's rugby fixtures
The men's and women’s rugby games kick-offs today with some exciting matches.
Coventry Stadium and Arena will be home of rugby during the games.
Matches are divided into two sessions at 09:00am – 13:30pm and then 17:30pm to 22:00pm.
England’s men's team will play Samoa in the morning session, followed by Sri Lanka in the afternoon.
England’s women's rugby team will also face Sri Lanka in the morning session and then face Canada in the afternoon.
Women’s T20 Cricket
Women’s T20 Cricket makes its debut in the Commonwealth Games today and will be held at the Edgbaston Stadium.
Australia will take on India in the early session and Pakistan will face Barbados, who were recently confirmed as the team from the West Indies that will take part in the Commonwealth Games.
The bronze and gold medals games for the cricket will take place on August 7th.
England medal hopes
1) Adam Gemili - 100 meters
Adam Gemili is the first Brit to run under 10 seconds in the 100-meter race. Mr Gemili won gold in the 100-meter gold relay at the 2017 World Championships in what he described as his "greatest race".
2) Max Burgin - 800 meters
The Yorkshire born 800 meters runner has been dubbed the "next Sebastian Coe". Burgin recorded the fourth fastest time in the UK's all-time 800m rankings.
3) Nick Miller - Hammer
Nick Miller made his Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow 2014, winning the silver medal and followed this up with a gold medal on the Gold Coast in 2018.
4) Holly Bradshaw - Pole Vault
The Preston-born star is ranked fourth in the world and won bronze at the Tokyo Olympic Games. In addition, Bradshaw holds the UK record in pole vault with 4.9 meters.
5) Katarina Johnson-Thompson - Heptathlon
The current Commonwealth Games champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson holds the British heptathlon record, amassing 6,981 points.