{"id":25536,"date":"2026-07-24T23:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25536"},"modified":"2026-07-24T23:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T23:01:00","slug":"englands-mark-swan-powerlifts-to-commonwealth-games-first-gold-by-fraction-of-a-point-commonwealth-games-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25536","title":{"rendered":"England\u2019s Mark Swan powerlifts to Commonwealth Games\u2019 first gold by fraction of a point | Commonwealth Games 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Mark Swan of England claimed the first gold medal of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/commonwealth-games\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Commonwealth Games<\/a> after one of the closest finishes imaginable in the men\u2019s lightweight para powerlifting competition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The 25-year-old lifted 222kg \u2013 more than three times his body weight and roughly the equivalent of bench pressing a grand piano \u2013 to finish level with Nigeria\u2019s Roland Ezuruike, 50, on 153.9 points after the second round of lifts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">With both athletes failing on their final attempts, Swan was awarded gold after his score proved superior to Ezuruike\u2019s to the second decimal place. Over an hour after the competition had ended, the Englishman admitted he still did not know exactly what separated them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"3b55a263-6e71-4b85-81e5-fc7595519676\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\"><gu-island name=\"RichLinkComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;richLinkIndex&quot;:3,&quot;element&quot;:{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement&quot;,&quot;prefix&quot;:&quot;Related: &quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Commonwealth Games 2026: first gold goes to England; Ramsay-Peaty eases through on day one \u2013 live&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;3b55a263-6e71-4b85-81e5-fc7595519676&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;richLink&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/live\/2026\/jul\/24\/commonwealth-games-2026-day-one-updates-swimming-powerlifting-gymnastics-boxing-live&quot;},&quot;ajaxUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:2}}\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cI actually thought I got third so I didn\u2019t realise I won,\u201d he said. \u201cI was in the backrooms. I came back off the third lift and I actually thought I got bronze. My coach said: \u2018Good job on gold\u2019 and I was like: \u2018Huh?\u2019 It didn\u2019t make sense and they just kept telling me \u2018Mark, you\u2019ve won.\u2019 I thought they were winding me up. It still hasn\u2019t sunk in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The two-time Paralympic champion and defending Commonwealth champion Bonnie Bunyau Gustin of Malaysia, the world record-holder in the under-72kg category, took bronze after falling just 0.4 points behind the leading pair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Swan, who won Commonwealth silver in Birmingham four years ago, also attempted a world record-equalling lift of 232kg, which appeared close but was ruled out after a challenge, sparking confusion before officials confirmed he had secured the opening gold medal of the Games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cIt was absolutely incredible,\u201d Swan said. \u201cI celebrated [the world record] because I was happy I actually lifted it. That in itself is 12kg more than I ever touched. I think it was [ruled out because of] a press sequence. I might have locked out a bit but I don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t looked back on it. I\u2019ve won so I am not really bothered about that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThis is just the start. I\u2019ve been training my heart out and doing everything I possibly can. No matter the result today, I\u2019d have left happy because I know there was nothing else I could have done. My ambition is to become a Paralympic gold medallist and a world record-holder, and go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The victory was particularly satisfying given the calibre of the field. Gustin has dominated the lightweight division for much of the decade, winning two Paralympic titles and arriving in Glasgow as defending Commonwealth champion, while Ezuruike is a Rio 2016 Paralympic champion and Commonwealth gold medallist. \u201cThey pushed me lots,\u201d Swan said. \u201cThey pushed me a lot more than I expected them to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Swan also recognised the significance of delivering England\u2019s first title of the Games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cBeing the first gold medal for Team England is massive. It\u2019s a really big achievement. Hopefully this brings everybody on now from Team England and they\u2019re pushing on to do the same. It\u2019s fantastic to lay down a marker for England.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"d643383c-6108-42e6-9161-ac2586470ab9\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><svg width=\"18\" height=\"13\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 13\"><path d=\"M18 3.5v8l-1.5 1.5h-15l-1.5-1.5v-8l1.5-1.5h3.5l2-2h4l2 2h3.5l1.5 1.5zm-9 7.5c1.9 0 3.5-1.6 3.5-3.5s-1.6-3.5-3.5-3.5-3.5 1.6-3.5 3.5 1.6 3.5 3.5 3.5z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Mark Swan shows his delight after a successful lift.<\/span> Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">One of the loudest supporters inside the SEC Armadillo was fellow England para powerlifter Liam McGarry, who ruled himself out of the Games after battling sepsis earlier this year. Swan called him a \u201creally good friend\u201d and said: \u201cI hear him everywhere; he\u2019s got a big mouth. He certainly makes himself present, no matter where he is. I\u2019m over the moon [he was here] and this was for him too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">There was also home nation interest through Scotland\u2019s Finlay Davidson, whose Commonwealth debut ended with an impressive fifth-place finish despite suffering a trap strain in training just a week before the Games. He could not resist a joke about Swan winning the first gold of the Games on Scottish soil. \u201cHe is my teammate outside the Commies so I am going to be proud of him \u2026 but he is English,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The 21-year-old Davidson, competing in Scotland for the first time after taking up para powerlifting in 2022, outperformed his Commonwealth ranking by two places with successful lifts of 156kg, 161kg and 166kg. \u201cUnreal,\u201d he said of the experience. \u201cI would have liked to come out with a medal but we\u2019ll take what we get. Fifth was better than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2026\/jul\/24\/englands-mark-swan-powerlifts-to-games-first-gold-by-fraction-of-a-point\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark Swan of England claimed the first gold medal of the Commonwealth Games after one of the closest finishes imaginable in the men\u2019s lightweight para powerlifting competition. The 25-year-old lifted 222kg \u2013 more than three times his body weight and roughly the equivalent of bench pressing a grand piano \u2013 to finish level with Nigeria\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1028,"featured_media":25537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-powerlifting-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>England\u2019s Mark Swan powerlifts to Commonwealth Games\u2019 first gold by fraction of a point | Commonwealth Games 2026 - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25536\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"England\u2019s Mark Swan powerlifts to Commonwealth Games\u2019 first gold by fraction of a point | Commonwealth Games 2026 - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mark Swan of England claimed the first gold medal of the Commonwealth Games after one of the closest finishes imaginable in the men\u2019s lightweight para powerlifting competition. The 25-year-old lifted 222kg \u2013 more than three times his body weight and roughly the equivalent of bench pressing a grand piano \u2013 to finish level with Nigeria\u2019s [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25536\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T23:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Yara El-Shaboury\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Yara El-Shaboury\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=25536#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=25536\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Yara El-Shaboury\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/396c1f01cdca58470a9a2025ffeec1b2\"},\"headline\":\"England\u2019s Mark Swan powerlifts to Commonwealth Games\u2019 first gold by fraction of a point | Commonwealth Games 2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-24T23:01:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=25536\"},\"wordCount\":744,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=25536#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/2768.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Powerlifting News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=25536#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=25536\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=25536\",\"name\":\"England\u2019s Mark Swan powerlifts to Commonwealth Games\u2019 first gold by fraction of a point | Commonwealth Games 2026 - 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