GLASGOW — While Team South Africa’s swimmers were busy rewriting the history books and collecting medals at the SEC Centre pool, a host of other national athletes kicked off their 2026 Commonwealth Games campaigns across Glasgow. From the gymnastics floor to the bowling greens, Day 1 delivered a mix of triumphant qualifications, hard-fought draws, and unfortunate heartbreaks.
Here is how Team SA fared outside of the pool on the opening day of competition.
Gymnastics: McLean Books His Ticket to the Final
South African artistic gymnast Daniel McLean delivered one of the standout performances of the day in the Men’s Individual Qualification.
Taking to the Floor Exercise, McLean executed a superb routine that earned him a score of 13.350 (Difficulty: 4.500, Execution: 8.850). The score placed him 4th overall in a highly competitive field, comfortably securing his qualification for the individual apparatus final.
While the floor was his undisputed highlight, McLean finished the Men’s All-Around qualification in 25th place with a total score of 63.600, earning him the third reserve (R3) spot for the All-Around final.
Lawn Bowls: Rittmuller Stays Perfect
On the greens at SEC Hall 3, Wayne Rittmuller proved why he is one of Team SA’s strongest medal contenders in the Lawn Bowls Men’s Singles.
Building on his opening match victory on Thursday, Rittmuller outclassed Mitchell Graham of Norfolk Island in straight sets (11-2, 11-4). The South African took total control early in both sets, storming to a 9-0 lead in the first and a 9-2 lead in the second, to cruise to a dominant 2-0 victory in his Section B, Round 2 clash.
In the Women’s Pairs, the South African duo of Thabelo Muvhango and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg faced a stiff challenge against a highly-rated Indian team. Despite keeping the scorelines tight and pushing their opponents all the way, Team SA was narrowly edged out in straight sets, losing 2-0 (4-6, 5-7).
Para Bowls: A Hard-Fought Point Against Australia
In the Para Mixed Pairs (B2-B3), Princess Schroeder (directed by Graham Ward) and Keith Orrell (directed by Trevor Freeman) had a challenging start to their Section A campaign, dropping their opening match 2-0 (3-8, 1-6) to Scotland.
However, the duo showed immense character in their evening session against Australia. After losing the first set 9-2, Schroeder and Orrell dug deep to secure a 4-4 draw in the second set, earning a vital half-point to ensure they didn’t walk away empty-handed from a 1.5 – 0.5 defeat.
3x3 Wheelchair Basketball: A Tough Opener
Team SA’s Women’s 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball squad faced a baptism of fire in their Pool A opener against a dominant Canadian side.
Canada’s suffocating defense restricted South Africa to just 14% shooting from the field, while forcing 16 turnovers. Aviwe Ngoni, Michelle Moganedi, and Ongezwa Hagu each managed to get on the scoreboard, and Moganedi fought hard in the paint to pull down a team-high 6 rebounds. Ultimately, Canada’s Elodie Tessier (10 points) proved too much to handle, as Team SA fell 19-3.
Boxing: Cruel End for Dames
The most heartbreaking moment of the day came in the boxing ring. Competing in the Men’s 65kg Round of 32, Simamkele Dames squared off against Mauritius’s Ziggy Agathe.
After a competitive first round that saw all five judges score the bout 10-9 in favor of Agathe, disaster struck just eight seconds into the second round. Dames sustained an injury that forced the referee to immediately wave off the fight (RSC-I). It was a cruel and premature end to the Commonwealth Games dream for the South African pugilist.
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