With the Commonwealth

Games set to begin on Australia’s Gold Coast on 4 April, we thought it was high time to venture back to triathlon’s official Commonwealth Games debut in Salford, Manchester, in 2002.

Pictured on the cover is triathlon stalwart Stuart Hayes, a surprise inclusion at the 2002 Games who’d go onto finish 11th in Salford in a race won by Canada’s 2000 Olympic champion and all-round

220 hero Simon Whitfield. Leanda Cave would scoop a silver for Wales behind another Canadian, Carol Montgomery in the women's event, with the results list reading like a who’s who of British female noughties greats, with Jodie Swallow, Michelle Dillon, Julie Dibens, Cat Morrison, Anneliese Heard and Bella Bayliss all featuring. Hayes, meanwhile, would go onto race at the 2012 Olympics and is still training and racing hard today, 25 years after he first dipped his toes into the world of triathlon alongside Tim Don.

Cut to the 2018 Games and the individual triathlon events take place on 5 April, before the paratriathlon and mixed relays follow on 7 April. Triathlon medal hopes for the home nations include the Brownlee brothers and Vicky Holland for England, and Non Stanford for Wales, with Joe Townsend, Lizzie Tench and Karen Darke just a trio of home nation medal contenders in the paratriathlon.

“Stu Hayes is still training and racing hard today, 25 years after he first dipped his toes into tri”