Nina Kennedy arrives early to lead Australia into Glasgow opening ceremony

Nina Kennedy named Australian flag-bearer for Glasgow Commonwealth Games opening ceremony Thu 23 Jul 2026 at 12:28am In short: Nina Kennedy has been named Australia's flag-bearer and Tim Hodge will carry the King's baton at the 2026 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow. Kennedy is the first of Australia's track and field athletes to arrive as the program does not start until day four of the Games. What's next? ABC Sport will have live blog coverage of the opening ceremony from the Hydro on Friday at 5am AEST. Nina Kennedy will carry the Australian flag in the Glasgow 2026 opening ceremony before she tries to defend her Commonwealth Games pole vault title. Kennedy is the first of the Australian athletics team to touch down in Glasgow, with the track and field program not starting until Monday. "I am so proud to follow in the footsteps of so many great Australians who have carried the flag before me. The Commonwealth Games have always meant so much to me; it's where I won my first medal back in 2018," Kennedy said. "This is my third Games, and I'm lucky enough to be defending my title. My final isn't until later in the week, so I'll get a bit of a sleep-in the morning after. "I've worked with our team to make sure I'm as prepared as I can be, and there's no version of the Games where I'd miss the chance to carry that flag." Kennedy won gold in Birmingham after claiming silver four years earlier on the Gold Coast. Since then she has broken the Australian record, become a world champion in 2023 and won Olympic gold in 2024. A torn hamstring wiped out her 2025 season, including the chance to defend her world title last year, but she has returned to competition without missing a beat in 2026, breaking the national record for a 10th time just two weeks ago in Monaco. "I've had a long road with injuries to get back to this point, so to be trusted with this now, on top of everything else so far this season, means more than I can really put into words," she said. Kennedy will be joined by another reigning gold medallist, para swimmer Tim Hodge, who will carry the King's Baton at Friday morning's (AEST) ceremony at the Hydro. Hodge's international journey began in Glasgow as a 14-year-old at the 2015 Para Swimming World Championships. 2026 marks his third Commonwealth Games, where he will try to defend the SB9 100m backstroke gold he won in Birmingham. "I've been lucky enough to compete at two Commonwealth Games already, and I've watched the team come into the stadium both times and felt so much pride watching the green and gold walking in," Hodge said. "To now have that role myself, to have it happen in Glasgow of all places, the same city where I made my international debut, means the Games already feel special. "It's the first time that I'll march too. I'm usually competing first day. I can't wait to feel the excitement." The baton relay started at Buckingham Palace in March last year, when King Charles III put his full message into Scotland's baton. Unlike previous years, every nation has their own, each containing one word of the message, which will be read in full by the King at the opening ceremony. It is also the first time a King's baton has been carried for the Commonwealth Games, with the royal tradition starting at the 1958 Cardiff Games, five years after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.