Can Wales find new Commonwealth legends in Glasgow?

From hosting the Empire Games in 1958, Colin Jackson’s hurdle heroics, Nicole Cooke’s cycling success and Dave Morgan’s weightlifting dominance, Wales has built a proud Commonwealth Games tradition.

Team Wales won a record 36 medals in Glasgow in 2014, a feat they went on to match at the Gold Coast in 2018, where they won five more golds.

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As the countdown continues to Thursday’s opening ceremony of the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, BBC Sport Wales looks back at iconic Welsh moments as this year’s athletes look to make their own history.

“I can’t wait to see the team do everything to make everyone in Wales proud,” said captain Olivia Breen.

Can Welsh track athletes go the distance?

Welsh athletics has produced some of the country’s greatest Commonwealth performers.

Kirsty Wade won 800m gold at Brisbane 1982 before writing her name into Welsh athletics folklore with a memorable 800m and 1500m double in Edinburgh four years later.

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Those same 1986 Games also saw a teenage Colin Jackson emerge with silver in the 110m hurdles.

By the time he won gold in 1990 and defended his title in Victoria in 1994, Jackson was a world-record holder and one of the most dominant athletes on the planet.

Now a new crop of Welsh athletes will be hoping to launch their race into action.

Olympic relay bronze medallist and last year’s world indoor champion Jeremiah Azu spearheads a Wales team that includes 1500m runner Jake Heyward making his comeback after battling back from Achilles surgery earlier this year as well as British bobsleigh Olympian Adele Nicoll in the shot put.

Boxing has long been one of Wales’ most successful Commonwealth sports.

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One of its most unusual gold medals came at Delhi 2010, when Sean McGoldrick was initially beaten in the bantamweight final before being awarded gold after his opponent failed a drugs test.

More recently, Ioan Croft claimed gold at Birmingham 2022 where Owain Harris-Allan won bantamweight bronze.

He now returns aiming to top the podium before looking to follow previous Commonwealth medallists Lauren Price and Joe Cordina by turning professional.

“I won’t be satisfied unless I get a gold medal,” said the 22-year-old.

“I’ll be turning pro and stepping up and be chasing the world titles for sure.

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“I want to go on to do great things in the pro ranks as well, just as I am in the amateurs. I’ll be keeping the same energy, I’ll be striving for the same kind of goals.”

Rosie Eccles insists she has “more fire than ever” as she defends gold in her final Commonwealth Games.

“It’s always been the aim and no one’s retained that title, so it’s a little bit of history for me,” said the 29-year-old.

“If I come away with the gold medal and hear my national anthem, that’s what drives me. When things are tough, I think of that. It’s a powerful thing.

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“I really believe I can do it. I have such faith in my team that I believe I can take on the world.”

If there is one sport that has kept Wales ticking over at the Commonwealth Games, it is cycling.

Nicole Cooke’s road race gold at Manchester 2002 provided an early glimpse of the talent that would later see her crowned world and Olympic champion.

Now the wheels of expectation turn towards Emma Finucane, the Carmarthen-born rider who has transformed herself from Commonwealth bronze medallist into an Olympic and world champion and leads a squad packed with medal potential.

Welsh swimmers have often gone the distance when Commonwealth medals are on the line.

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David Davies secured gold in the 1500m freestyle in Melbourne 20 years ago.

And in 2018, Alys Thomas became the first Welsh female swimmer to win Commonwealth gold in 200m butterfly setting a Games record on her way.

This year’s squad contains plenty of athletes capable of creating another wave of success including two previous Olympic champions.

Olympic champion Matt Richards is targeting the Commonwealth title missing from his collection.

“It would mean the world. Every time I’ve ever stood at the top of the podium, I’ve heard the British national anthem, which amazing but I’ve never been able to stand at the top of the podium and hear the Welsh anthem,” he said.

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“That’s really important to me and something that I’m absolutely determined to try and make sure that we fill that stadium with our anthem and do it as many times as possible.”

Fellow Olympic gold Kieran Bird strengthens an impressive Welsh team that includes Birmingham silver medallist Medi Harris, 23, Paralympic teenage champion Rhys Darbey, 19, and world silver medallist Ela Letton-Jones, 19, all with podium ambitions.

Few Welsh athletes can match the legacy of Dave Morgan, the most decorated Welsh athlete in Games history who amassed nine gold medals across a glittering career.

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This summer, it is British champion Madaline Connelly leading the charge while Laura Hughes returns after winning bronze on the Gold Coast in 2018.

Joining them is James Wales, 25, who is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and arrives full of ambition as he joked: “I’m not just there to eat the haggis. I’m there to win a medal.”

Matching Morgan’s achievements would be a heavy task, but every Commonwealth legend has to start somewhere.

Birmingham 2022 saw Gemma Frizelle write herself into the record books with a memorable rhythmic gymnastics’ gold medal.

Now the spotlight falls on Ruby Evans, the first Welsh gymnast in more than 50 years to win the all-around title at the British Championships and a World Championship silver medallist.

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Judoka Ashleigh Barnikel, 25, has potential while Wales will break new ground when they compete in the 3×3 wheelchair basketball for the first time.

While the medal haul of 36 in two of the past three games remains the modern benchmark for Team Wales, there is a new chapter waiting to be written in Glasgow.

History suggests Wales rarely leaves a Commonwealth Games without a new success story, but who will be taking the spotlight this time around?