The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games have returned to British soil from 23 July to 2 August, and Kent will have a direct stake in Team England’s medal campaign when the athletics programme begins at Scotstoun Stadium on Monday, 27 July. The county’s original track-and-field contingent included British sprint record-holder Dina Asher-Smith alongside one of England’s leading young hurdlers and Tonbridge-born decathlete Lewis Church, but a late injury withdrawal by Asher-Smith has sharply altered Kent’s prospects before the first starting gun.
Asher-Smith, the 2019 world 200m champion and British record-holder over both 100m and 200m, officially withdrew on 23 July, joining several of Team England’s most prominent athletes on the sidelines. Her absence removes Kent’s most established global medal contender, leaving the county’s hopes with a rising hurdles talent arriving after a breakthrough European campaign and Church, who will make his Commonwealth Games debut in the demanding ten-event decathlon after missing selection for Birmingham 2022.
The reshaped Kent line-up will compete during six days of athletics and Para-athletics from 27 July to 1 August, with Glasgow hosting more than 3,000 athletes from 74 Commonwealth nations and territories across a streamlined ten-sport programme. For Kent supporters, attention now turns from the loss of a proven world champion to two very different medal challenges: explosive speed over the barriers and the accumulated physical strain of the decathlon.
The Ashford Chronicle reports on which Kent athletes remain in Team England’s Glasgow 2026 squad, why Dina Asher-Smith withdrew, what events they will contest, when they are due to compete at Scotstoun Stadium and where the county’s strongest Commonwealth Games medal prospects now lie.
At a Glance: Kent at Glasgow 2026
- The Games: Glasgow 2026, the XXIII Commonwealth Games, run from Thursday 23 July to Sunday 2 August 2026.
- Scale: A streamlined 10-sport programme, around 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories, across four venues within an eight-mile corridor.
- Athletics: Held at Scotstoun Stadium from Monday 27 July to Saturday 1 August.
- Kent's headliners: Emily Newnham (400m hurdles) and Lewis Church (decathlon) fly the flag after Dina Asher-Smith's late withdrawal.
- Team England: Fielding an 83-strong athletics squad — the nation's most successful sport in Commonwealth Games history.
The Big Picture: A Scaled-Back Games Comes Home
Glasgow 2026 is a Commonwealth Games like no other. After the original host, the Australian state of Victoria, withdrew on cost grounds, Glasgow stepped in to stage a deliberately leaner event, drawing on the venues it used so successfully in 2014 and funded in large part by compensation from the Victorian government.
The result is a compact, 10-sport programme — including the largest-ever para-sport medal programme, with six fully integrated para sports — staged across just four venues clustered within an eight-mile corridor of the city. Several sports that featured at Birmingham 2022, among them cricket, hockey, badminton, wrestling and rugby sevens, have dropped off the roster for this edition. What remains is designed to be broadcast-friendly and packed with action from morning to night across the eleven days of competition.
For Kent's athletes, all of whom compete in athletics, the meaningful dates are 27 July to 1 August at Scotstoun Stadium, where Team England — the most decorated athletics nation in Commonwealth history — fields a squad brimming with Olympic, world and Commonwealth pedigree.
Kent's Athletes to Watch: The Round-Up
The table below sets out the Kent-linked athletes in Team England's athletics squad, their events and their story going into the Games.
| Athlete | Kent link | Club | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Newnham | Dartford | Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers | 400m hurdles | Competing — reigning UK champion |
| Lewis Church | Tonbridge | — | Decathlon | Competing — experienced international |
| Dina Asher-Smith | Blackheath & Bromley | Blackheath & Bromley Harriers | 4x100m relay | Withdrawn — replaced in squad |
Selections reflect Team England's athletics announcements; late changes are noted. Club and locality as reported by Kent's regional press.
Emily Newnham: Dartford's Rising Star Goes for Gold
If Kent has a genuine medal contender in Glasgow, it is Emily Newnham. The Dartford athlete arrives at her first senior Commonwealth Games as the freshly crowned UK women's 400m hurdles champion, and she is riding a wave of form that has marked her out as one of British athletics' most exciting young prospects.
Still just 22, Newnham has climbed the ranks fast. She was European Under-23 champion, taking gold with a championship-record run of 54.08 that placed her among the fastest Britons in history over the event, and added a second gold in Bergen as part of the victorious 4x400m relay. She has since gone quicker still, and her senior international CV already includes European Indoor Championship medals and a top-eight finish on the world stage. A dominant victory at this summer's UK Championships confirmed her as the country's number one over the barriers.
For Kent readers, her selection is a source of real pride — a home-grown talent stepping onto a home-nation stage with a genuine chance of the podium. The 400m hurdles is one of athletics' most demanding events, blending flat-out speed, stamina and split-second technical judgement over ten barriers, and Newnham has all three. Watch for her in the heats early in the athletics programme, with the final the target later in the week.
Lewis Church: Tonbridge's Decathlon Warrior
Where Newnham brings youthful momentum, Lewis Church brings hard-won experience. The Tonbridge athlete, 29, lines up in the decathlon — ten events across two gruelling days that crown, by tradition, the Games' all-round athlete.
The decathlon is a test of range and resilience like no other: 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m on day one; 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and a lung-bursting 1500m on day two. Points accumulate across all ten, so consistency and mental toughness matter as much as any single standout mark. Church, a seasoned international, knows the event's rhythms and its cruelties, and for a British decathlete a home-nation Commonwealth Games is a rare and special stage.
For Kent, his presence adds a second string to the county's Glasgow story — the endurance and all-round craft of the decathlon alongside Newnham's specialist speed.
Dina Asher-Smith: The Late Withdrawal That Reshaped Kent's Team
No round-up would be complete without the athlete who was to have been Kent's biggest name — and the reason the county's team looks different from the one first announced.
Dina Asher-Smith, of Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, is the fastest British woman on record, holder of the national 100m and 200m records and a former world 200m champion. Her selection for the women's 4x100m relay had offered the tantalising prospect of another relay gold, having struck gold in the event at the 2018 Games on the Gold Coast. She had already missed Birmingham 2022 through injury.
But in the final days before the Games, Team England confirmed that Asher-Smith had withdrawn from Glasgow 2026 — one of several high-profile late absentees, alongside reigning Commonwealth heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Olympic medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith, Amber Anning, Daryll Neita and others. Renee Regis was called up to replace her in the squad. It is a familiar reality of a crowded athletics calendar, with several stars weighing the Commonwealth Games against the European Athletics Championships later this summer and managing their bodies through a demanding season.
Kent's Athletics Heartland: Clubs That Punch Above Their Weight
Her absence is a blow for Kent fans hoping to cheer on a bona fide superstar, but it sharpens the spotlight on Newnham and Church — and on the depth of talent coming through the county's celebrated clubs.
Kent's presence at Glasgow is no accident. The county sits within one of the strongest athletics ecosystems in the country. Blackheath & Bromley Harriers, Asher-Smith's club, is a perennial powerhouse whose junior teams have ranked top in the nation, training out of Norman Park. Tonbridge, Church's home town, has a proud distance and multi-events tradition, while Dartford and the wider north-west Kent belt feed talent into clubs across the London fringe.
This pipeline — grassroots clubs, dedicated volunteer coaches and a network of tracks across the county — is what turns promising schoolchildren into Team England internationals. Every Kent name on a Commonwealth Games start list is the visible tip of years of quiet work by that system, and a reminder of why investment in local athletics facilities matters far beyond the elite.
Athletics Schedule: When to Watch
The athletics programme runs at Scotstoun Stadium from Monday 27 July to Saturday 1 August, with the wider Games running 23 July to 2 August. Key markers for following Kent's athletes:
- Mon 27 July: Athletics gets under way — opening day of track and field, with early rounds across events.
- Mid-week: Qualifying rounds and semi-finals build through the programme; the 400m hurdles progresses from heats towards its final.
- Two-day decathlon: Church's event unfolds across two consecutive days of five disciplines each — a marathon of concentration for athletes and fans alike.
- Sat 1 August: The final day of athletics, with the last medals awarded.
Exact session times are set out on the official Glasgow 2026 day-by-day schedule; check listings for the specific timing of the 400m hurdles final and the decathlon, and for UK broadcast coverage.
The Wider Team England Picture
Kent's athletes compete within a formidable Team England athletics squad — ultimately 83 strong after the CGF confirmed additional places, making it one of the largest and most experienced line-ups the nation has fielded. No country has won more athletics medals in Commonwealth Games history than England, and the Glasgow squad blends Olympic, world and Commonwealth medallists with Commonwealth Youth Games graduates and rising juniors.
That strength in depth is precisely why late withdrawals, while high-profile, have not derailed the team: for every established name who steps aside, another athlete earns a Commonwealth debut. For Kent's Newnham, competing shoulder to shoulder with that calibre of squad is both a challenge and a springboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Kent athletes are competing at Glasgow 2026? After Dina Asher-Smith's withdrawal, Kent's representation in Team England athletics is led by Emily Newnham (Dartford, 400m hurdles) and Lewis Church (Tonbridge, decathlon).
Why did Dina Asher-Smith pull out of the Commonwealth Games? Team England confirmed her withdrawal in the final days before the Games, one of several high-profile late absences. Renee Regis replaced her in the 4x100m relay squad. Many athletes are balancing the Games against the European Championships later this summer.
When is the athletics at Glasgow 2026? The athletics programme runs from Monday 27 July to Saturday 1 August at Scotstoun Stadium. The Games as a whole run from 23 July to 2 August.
What event is Emily Newnham in? The 400m hurdles. She goes into the Games as the reigning UK champion and a European Under-23 gold medallist, making her Kent's leading medal hope.
What is the decathlon and when does Lewis Church compete? The decathlon is a ten-event contest held over two consecutive days, testing all-round athletic ability. Church competes across both days within the 27 July–1 August athletics window; check the day-by-day schedule for exact timings.
How many sports are at Glasgow 2026? Ten, in a deliberately scaled-back programme using existing Glasgow venues, including the largest-ever para-sport medal programme.
Kent may be sending a small squad to Glasgow, but it is a proud one. With Dina Asher-Smith's late withdrawal, the county's hopes now rest on Emily Newnham's blistering form over the barriers and Lewis Church's all-round decathlon craft — two athletes shaped by Kent's strong club system and ready to test themselves on a home-nation stage. Set your reminders for the athletics from 27 July, and get behind the county's finest.
The Ashford Chronicle will follow Kent's athletes throughout Glasgow 2026 — check back for results and reaction as the medals are decided.
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Reporting by the Ashford Chronicle sports desk. Squad and selection detail drawn from Team England, England Athletics, Glasgow 2026 and Kent regional press, as of 25 July 2026. Late squad changes may occur; check official sources for the latest.