Glasgow must make most of chance for Commonwealth Games legacy next year, says Whittle

We speak to former athlete Brian Whittle MSP about the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games

Earlier this week, Scotland marked 500 days to go until the Commonwealth Games return to the city of Glasgow.

First Minister John Swinney was in London for the official ceremony marking the start of the King’s baton relay, kicked off by Commonwealth legend Sir Chris Hoy.

Katie Shanahan, Jason Epton, Rachel Tytler, Ian Reid CBE, Beth Riva, Callum Deboysand Jason Banks at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. | Andrew Milligan/Press Association

But Holyrood has its own Commonwealth athlete in its ranks - Conservative MSP Brian Whittle competed for Scotland at three Commonwealth Games, including in Edinburgh.

Scotland on Sunday sat down to chat with the European gold medallist and Olympian sprinter about all things Commonwealth Games - including the opportunities for Scottish sport, grassroots sports, the inclusion of trans athletes, and who he has his eyes on at the 2026 competition.

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“I think we need to start being much more positive about the games,” Mr Whittle said. “There was a reluctance to take it on, which for the life of me I couldn’t work out, given it is not costing the public purse a penny.

“And given our poor health record here in Scotland, it is a chance to bring some of the fittest sports people in the world to our doorstep.”

Glasgow was confirmed as the host of the 2026 games after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew as the hosts over rising costs.

A deal was then struck when the Scottish Government agreed to back the games, along with an investment of £2.3 million from the Victorian state government.

The UK Government has also agreed to provide the cash for increased security measures.

But other than that, the organisers of the games have promised it will come at no cost to the Scottish public purse.

The games will be scaled back from 20 sports at Birmingham 2022 to just 10 - however, more than 200 gold medals will still be up for grabs.

Mr Whittle said: “In 2014 we won the bid, which is a different kettle of fish from this time around.

“But we still need to grasp the opportunity that everyone else shied away from - we were in a good place to take on the games, albeit in a much reduced way.

Brian Whittle MSP

“There is a completely different dynamic for 2026, but that’s not to say it won’t be magnificent, it is still an amazing opportunity.

“People haven’t quite got their heads around it yet because there are still people saying ‘we can’t afford it’, but it’s not going to cost us anything.”

He added: “The games are becoming more costly to deliver.

“Australia in 2018 was unbelievable, for example, but look what happened in Birmingham - they did an amazing job, but it was unsustainable.

“In the bidding process they are all trying to outdo each other in splendour, but it is becoming unsustainable and we should get back to the basics of looking after the athletes and spectators without all the frills.

“At the end of the day it is a show, but it is also for the athletes to get together and sort out who is who.”

Mr Whittle said he attended the athletics competition in Hampden Park every day during the 2014 games, and could not believe how much the athletes and spectators embraced Scotland.

But despite the city putting on a show which “exceeded expectations”, Mr Whittle says the legacy of the games was “not what it should have been”.

The South Scotland MSP said: “I get that it is hard to plan for legacy and there are some really good things happening, but some of the stadium venues have not been maintained, access to sport has declined, and physical literacy has declined.

“We have become a top venue for all sorts of international sports, but we do not use that to tackle the significant health problems we have in Scotland.

“We have another bite of the cherry, even if it is a smaller cherry - we cannot give up on the legacy of the games even if we didn’t make the most of 2014.”

Mr Whittle, who has been an athletics coach for the past 30 years, says 43 per cent of PE specialists have been “removed” from primary schools since the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

He would like to see more childcare workers upskilled in active play, and for the amount of physical education and literacy in schools to be increased.

Mr Whittle says it is much easier for those who were active as children to remain fit as adults, adding this is much harder when it comes to women.

One idea Mr Whittle says could be explored on the back of the games this time around is getting more retired people to volunteer in grassroots sports.

He said: “To have clubs with waiting lists is bonkers when we are saying there is not enough activity happening.

“Part of sports is volunteering and coaching, and perhaps as part of retirement packages we can pay for people’s coaching certificates, utilising that talent and breadth of knowledge on another avenue.

“We should start speaking to major companies to get that part of their retirement packages, giving employees two or three days off to get them through their level one or level two coaching and their PVG checks.

“I’m just throwing it out there, trying to think outside the box and get creative - I’d like to see what companies think of that.”

One of the big talking points ahead of the games is the inclusion of trans athletes and whether trans women athletes should be allowed to compete in female categories in 2026.

“They can’t”, he said. “I find it incredible we have to have this conversation, because it is detrimental to all parties concerned.

“We have to face facts, if you go through puberty as a man you have a significant physical advantage over a female in terms of power and speed.

“Some countries think differently, but there is a reason trans men never make the team.

“I have seen it in everyday clubs in Scotland and it is just wrong - I’ve had trans people coming to my surgeries to talk about it and one asked ‘why can’t we have our own category?’

“You can’t create equality for one group by creating inequality in another group.”

So who does Mr Whittle have his eyes on for Scottish medal hopes in the 2026 games?

Top of the list is Brodie Young, who smashed Mr Whittle’s own men’s 400m Scottish indoor record last month - a record Mr Whittle had held for 37 years.

Brodie Young | Bobby Gavin

He said: “Brodie is in the States and he is really good.

“There’s also Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie, but I am interested to see what Brodie does.

“There are a host of youngsters coming through and I want to see if they can make the start line and then if they can deliver.

“We have always punched above our weight in international sports and delivered some of the greatest sports people there have been.”

Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games from July 23 until August 2 next year.