Australia will strive to be top at Games
AUSTRALIA will “definitely be striving” to top the medal tally again on home soil at the 2026 Commonwealth Games as returning chef de mission Petria Thomas lays out her expectations for the Victorian games.
Thomas has been unveiled as the team leader for a second straight Commonwealth Games after guiding Australia to 67 gold medals last year in Birmingham. A three-time Olympic gold medallist in the pool, Thomas was the nation’s first female chef de mission at a Commonwealth Games and saw Australia lead home nation England by 10 golds and two medals on the overall tally.
After easily topping the table at the last home games on the
Gold Coast in 2018, the expectations will be sky high for the home nation, with events to be staged across Victoria at Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland.
“What we did in Birmingham was fantastic to be honest, to go and win on English soil,” Thomas said.
“We will have a lot of pressure on our shoulders as we always do being the home team at the Commonwealth Games but I am positive that our athletes, coaches, support staff and everyone involved will really lift for a home games experience and put on a wonderful show.
“We will definitely be striving for that No.1 position on the medal tally.”
Thomas was thrown into the fire ahead of her first Commonwealth Games as Covid wreaked havoc on the preparation for Birmingham.
With the 2026 games to be spread around Victoria, Thomas will have the challenge of distance to deal with.
“They (the host cities) are … far enough to make it a challenge,” she said.