Mark Swan gave England the perfect start to the 2026 Commonwealth Games, claiming the very first gold medal of the competition after one of the closest finishes the sport has ever seen.
The 25-year-old para powerlifter lifted an incredible 222kg — more than three times his body weight — to finish level with Nigeria’s Roland Ezuruike on 153.9 points in the men’s lightweight final.
With both athletes failing on their final attempts, officials turned to the tie-break regulations. Swan was eventually declared the winner after edging Ezuruike by a fraction on the decimal calculations used to separate identical scores.
Remarkably, even the new Commonwealth champion wasn’t immediately sure why he had won.
“I Thought I’d Got Bronze”
Swan admitted he left
the platform convinced he had missed out on the title before his coach delivered the unexpected news backstage.
“I’m not sure why. I think it’s maybe because I lifted last. I don’t actually know,” Swan said.
“We both got the exact same score. I was in the backroom when I found out.”
“I came back off the third lift and I actually thought I’d got bronze.”
His coach’s reaction only added to the confusion.
“My coach was like: ‘Good job on gold’. It didn’t make any sense… I thought they were winding me up, but no, I’d actually won it.”
European Record Holder Falls Short Of World Mark
The Paralympic silver medallist had already enjoyed a memorable year after setting a new European record with a 220kg lift in March.
In Glasgow, he improved that mark to 222kg before attempting a 232kg lift, which would have equalled the world record. The ambitious final effort proved just out of reach.
“To get the first medal, especially gold, for Team England in the very first medal event, it’s absolutely huge,” Swan told BBC Sport.
“Hopefully this motivates the rest of the athletes in Team England to go out and push.”
Ezuruike settled for silver after an outstanding performance, while Malaysia’s world record holder Bonnie Bunyau Gustin claimed bronze after failing with a final attempt at 230kg.
