Standing 6ft 6in, and weighing more than 26 stone, Geoff Capes was a "mighty figure who commanded international respect as a shot-putter", said The Guardian: he won gold in the Commonwealth Games in 1974 and 1978, and represented Britain at three Olympic Games; but in the 1980s, he became far more widely known as Britain's Strongest Man (a title he won in 1979) and the World's Strongest Man (in 1983 and 1985). Thereafter he was regularly seen on British TV screens tossing cabers, dragging lorries and ripping apart telephone books.

A frequent guest on "Record Breakers", Capes won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for throwing a brick 146ft, said The Daily Telegraph. He won the World Highland Games five times, and was the Scottish Highland Games champion seven times. When he wasn't flexing his enormous muscles, he bred budgerigars. He had become interested in the birds in 1970s, when he was working for the Cambridgeshire police. Sent to arrest a man for non-payment of a fine, he noticed his collection of budgies, and over a cup of tea they had a "nice chat" about them. "It seemed a shame when, after the conversation ended, I suddenly remembered what I had to do," he recalled.

Geoffrey Capes was born in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, in 1949. His mother was 6ft and weighed 18 stone. She had six children by two former marriages; Geoff was the first child of her third, to an agricultural labourer, and was followed by two more. All 11 lived in three converted labourer's cottages in the Fens. Money was very tight. "The family wasn't just working class, but was on the lowest rung of that very long ladder that is the English class system," Capes said. He was educated at George Farmer School in Holbeach, where he marked himself out as a talented athlete but got involved in a lot of fights, and was banned from the local football team for punching a referee. He left school with no qualifications aged 14; on his last day, the headmaster told him he'd never make anything of himself.

So this self-described "village yobbo" joined his father in the fields; but he was already working on his strength and, aged 15, he proved it by loading 20 tons of potatoes onto a lorry in 20 minutes. By then, he had joined a local athletics club, where he was spotted by Stuart Storey, an international hurdler a few years his senior, who encouraged him to work on his upper body strength, and to keep away from the other local tearaways. By the age of 17, he was starting to make a name for himself as a shot-putter. He represented Britain for the first time in 1967, became national indoor and outdoor champion the year after that; and in 1969 he joined the police, to subsidise his unpaid sporting career. He proved a useful addition to the force. "When I was on duty there were never any fights on Friday nights," he said. "If things turned ugly, they'd always say, 'Send for Capesy'."

A large part of the money Capes earned went on his 12,000-calorie-a-day diet, which included seven pints of milk, a leg of lamb, a dozen eggs and two steaks. As well as competing at the Commonwealth Games, he won gold twice at the European Indoor Championships; but to his disappointment, Olympic medals eluded him. Capes was a hothead, said The Times, and had several arguments with sporting authorities. The Olympics in 1980 was his last amateur event. He was, he said getting bored of throwing an iron ball.

In later life, he appeared in pantomimes, cared for his birds, ran a gym, did charity work and served as a magistrate. He had a fear of flying, but in 1990 he braved the long-haul trip to South America to see his beloved budgerigars in the wild. It was a "dream come true", he told the Daily Mail.

The Commonwealth Games will return in 2026 with a vastly stripped-back programme, including the axing of sports such as hockey, badminton and cricket.

The Australian state of Victoria was originally lined up to host the event, but pulled out last year, saying that hosting the Games was proving "all cost and no benefit". Glasgow agreed to step in and host the 2026 competition, but in a cut-price form which has seen 12 sports dropped from the line-up.

While the 2022 Games, hosted in Birmingham, was considered a "roaring success", ultimately this "came at a price", to the tune of £800 million, making it the "most expensive sports event hosted in the UK since the 2012 Olympics", said the BBC. It's been a "struggle" to find a host for the 2030 Games, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stepped in to help, said The Guardian. With an increasing list of issues, many believe it is time for the Games to "be overhauled if it is to survive".

'Waste of time'

The Commonwealth Games is "on borrowed time", said The Telegraph's chief sports reporter Jeremy Wilson. "Cutting sports adrift" has been necessary to save money, but it is hard not to "fear that this latest cut will prove terminal". Indeed, "so cut back, so stripped down, so thinned out" is this Games, the "only surprise is that it's not sponsored by Ozempic", said Jim White in The Independent. It is clear this event is "on its last legs", becoming "ever more expensive and ever less relevant".

The Games is also fighting against a souring reputation in the modern era as it approaches its centenary in 2030. "Even the world's best PR agency" would find it difficult to rebrand an event that first began as the "Empire Games" to show off sporting talent from Britain's colonies, wrote The Guardian's Sean Ingle in 2023.

Given this "chequered history", one must ask "what is even the point of having this event?", said Jacques van der Westhuyzen in South African The Citizen. The Olympics serves as the best vehicle to measure sportspeople "against each other across multiple codes". The Commonwealth Games, particularly in this truncated form, is a "waste of time".

'Olympics-lite'

The Commonwealth Games is an "absolute blast", said David Mark for the Australian ABC, offering a "genuine opportunity for the nations of the Commonwealth to celebrate their diversity in one place", on a world stage outside the Olympics. For athletes, it plays an "invaluable" role at the "mid-point in a four-year Olympic campaign", said Newsroom New Zealand's Angela White. Acting as an "Olympics-lite", this event offers the chance for competitors to "adjust to the 'shock and awe' of a massive, multi-sport event".

But aside from sporting prowess, the Games is also a vital "vehicle for positive change and regional soft power", said Gayle McPherson, director of the research centre for culture, sport and events at the University of the West of Scotland, on The Conversation. In a best-case scenario, a smaller, stripped-back Games will offer smaller member nations the chance to "step up and host", establishing a "different legacy" with the values of "inclusion, diversity and sustainability".

The future of the Commonwealth Games has been thrown into doubt after the 2026 hosts dramatically pulled out today.

Just over a year after the Australian state of Victoria announced to great fanfare it was to host the next Games, its premier, Daniel Andrews, said that because of spiralling costs he was not prepared to redirect government funds to make up the shortfall.

Citing a nearly threefold increase in budget estimates, Andrews said it “does not represent value for money, that is all costs and no benefit”.

The Commonwealth Games Federation was “furious”, calling the decision “hugely disappointing”, said The Independent, while Craig Phillips, the Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive, described Andrews’s estimated cost up to $7 billion for the 12-day sporting event as a “gross exaggeration”.

It leaves organisers scrambling to find a new host for their showcase event less than three years out, but is in fact “just the latest sorry chapter for the Commonwealth Games, as it struggles for hosts – and relevance”, said The Guardian.

Organisers have had “difficulty” finding host cities in recent years, said the BBC. In 2017, Birmingham stepped in to replace Durban as the host of the 2022 Games after the city “missed deadlines and struggled with financial problems, leading to it being stripped of its hosting duties”, reported ITV News.

The South African city had itself been awarded the Games after its only competitor in the bid, the Canadian city of Edmonton, withdrew due to the cost. In total, the UK government stumped up more than £560 million to ensure the 2022 Games could go ahead in the West Midlands, with the local council putting in another £190 million.

As well as financial concerns, there is also a growing backlash against the history of the Games, once known as the British Empire Games. That more than half of Commonwealth countries currently criminalise same-sex relationships has also drawn condemnation from participants.

But not all agree the event is doomed. Event Scotland director Paul Bush, a former chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said despite doubts over the 2026 event and questions over the Commonwealth Games’s “relevancy”, it remains “a strong, viable proposition”. He suggested that Scotland “could play a role in a broader coaltion” of countries that could stage the 2026 event.

After 12 days of sporting action the 2022 Commonwealth Games came to an end with a spectacular closing ceremony at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham last night. Fireworks lit up the venue as fans celebrated their favourite athletes and many special guests, including legendary Brummie rocker Ozzy Osbourne, headlined the stage show.

On the sporting side there was a “familiar look” to the final medal table with Australia finishing top ahead of England and Canada, said Mike Henson on BBC Sport. On the social side, Birmingham “gorged” on all the drama with the event being the “best-attended of any Commonwealth Games with more than 1.3m tickets sold”.

Praising Birmingham for doing an “outstanding job”, federation chief Katie Sadleir said the “future is bright” for commonwealth sport. However, if the event is to stay relevant to a young audience then the games must be “modern and edgy”, AFP reported. “People ask, ‘is the Commonwealth movement dead?’” she said. “Well, to me it does not seem to be. Look at ticket sales, look who is showing up here, It is very much relevant, absolutely. As one says, it is never over until it is over.”

The baton has now been handed over to the Australian state of Victoria, which will welcome the next edition of the games in 2026.

‘Not been an easy sell’

Sport Minister Nigel Huddleston hailed the Birmingham games for its “amazing achievements”, being the fastest ever delivered and for being the most inclusive. The city’s “frenetic energy, human touch and swelling sense of pride” have no doubt “reinvigorated a concept which badly needed such enthusiastic hosts”, said Henson on BBC Sport. However, the games “didn’t have everything” though.

Britain’s “billboard stars” Dina Asher-Smith, Max Whitlock, Katie Archibald and Tom Daley all missed out as they “rested body and mind”. And Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson decided to compete in the “more lucrative” Diamond League event in Poland. Staging the Commonwealths “has not been an easy sell” in recent years, Henson added.

While the athletes “make the Olympic Games”, it was “the fans who bailed out the Commonwealth Games”, said Andy Bull in The Guardian.

‘Too big and too expensive’

Osbourne and Black Sabbath “fittingly” capped a “buzzing fortnight” in England’s second city, said Reuters. It may, however, “be the last time the multi-sport event makes such a big noise”.

Australia and its “sports-mad fans” will welcome the 2026 games in the southern state of Victoria, but “it promises to be a much different affair to the Birmingham bash”. Barring the opening ceremony, the 2026 games are set to “skip the Victoria capital and cultural heart” Melbourne, and “scatter the sports across multiple regional centres”.

Birmingham was “a good host” and it “felt ready for its moment”, Bull added. The West Midlands city “got it right”, but the future of the Commonwealth Games is “uncertain”. The games have “undoubtedly got too big, and too expensive”, which is “one reason why they will be split between multiple sites in Victoria in 2026”.

Organisers have also tried to have the games “break from their colonial past”, Reuters added. But by their nature “they remain rooted to the former British Empire and are seen as an anachronism in the post-colonial age”. While those criticisms are “unlikely to fade with time”, the games are “likely to plough on regardless”. Like 73-year-old Sabbath frontman Osbourne, “they can still put on a show even if their best years are well behind them”.

Durban, in South Africa, will no longer host the 2022 Commonwealth Games after it failed to meet the criteria set down by the event's governing body.

"Durban was awarded the Games in 2015 as the only city to make a confirmed bid and it was to have been the first African host of the event," the BBC reports. However, last month, "South African sports minister Fikile Mbalula indicated the city may not be able to host the event because of financial constraints".

It was decided to look for a new host venue at a meeting of the Commonwealth Games Federation in London today.

Gideon Sam, president of the South African Olympic committee, told Reuters: "This is a huge disappointment for us and for the whole African continent but without the necessary government guarantees, we couldn't move on.

"Everybody was very excited to see the Commonwealth Games staged in Durban, which was very well equipped to host the event, but once the economics started to play a role, it became difficult."

When rumours about Durban's ability to host the Games first emerged, the city of Liverpool said it would be willing to take over. It is already bidding to host the games in 2026.

"Liverpool would not be able to step in without alternative bids being considered by the Commonwealth Games Federation, but the Mayor has indicated he believes Liverpool is in 'a good position' to host them," reports the Liverpool Echo.

"The likes of Jamie Carragher, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Tony Bellew are among the sporting figures who've offered their support to Liverpool's 2026 bid."

News that Durban had pulled out came on the day the Queen started the countdown to the 2018 Games in Gold Coast, Australia, by launching a baton relay at Buckingham Palace.

The Commonwealth Games began as the British Empire Games in 1930. The event, held every four years, is open to athletes from more than 50 nations.

Liverpool offers to host Commonwealth Games

01 March

Liverpool has offered to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games if, as seems likely, Durban relinquishes the role.

South African sports minister Fikile Mbalula admitted this week that the city might not be able to meet its obligations as host city, saying: "We gave it our best shot but we can’t go beyond. If the country says we don’t have this money, we can’t [host the Games]."

Durban was awarded the Games in 2015, after preferred option Edmonton, in Canada, pulled out after local opposition. However, "the South African government has been unable to come to agreement with the Commonwealth Games Federation over paying for the tournament", says the BBC.

A final decision is expected from the Commonwealth Games Federation in the next few days, but the BBC reports that "Liverpool, which is bidding to host the 2026 games, has now offered to step in if Durban cannot host".

Mayor Joe Anderson has written to sports minister Tracey Crouch to express the city's interest.

"I am very confident that the city will be able to cope with the demands of holding the Games," he told the Liverpool Echo, saying it would "give us a great opportunity to regenerate the north of Liverpool and create a lasting legacy".

However, there could be competition from the other side of the world – "Auckland has pretty much everything needed to host a Commonwealth Games", says the New Zealand Herald.

Other hosts are thin on the ground, adds the paper. Melbourne could step in, but next year's Games are being held on the Gold Coast, which should rule Australia out. Canada is not interested and India did not enjoy the experience of hosting in 2010.

London is also an option, "but maybe that goes against the point of showcasing how far and wide the Commonwealth spreads".

Rotterdam-born Robin van Persie is 6ft tall

Mo Farah, one of the stars of the European Athletics Championships beginning today in Zurich, has revealed details of a dramatic breakdown earlier in the year, which saw him hospitalised for several days. The British double Olympic champion collapsed after a training run last month and had to be airlifted to hospital when medics thought he was having a heart attack.

Farah, who pulled out of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow citing illness, says in reality his condition was far worse than people were led to believe.

"I basically had a tooth taken out because it was chipped and it got infected," explained Farah, who competes in the 10,000m tomorrow and the 5,000m on Friday. "I was in a bit of pain, but went for a run, and when I came back I literally collapsed on the bathroom floor, completely knocked out."

Farah told the BBC that when he regained consciousness, he phoned his training partner and friend Cam Levins, a Canadian who finished third in the Commonwealth Games 10,000m final. "I was in so much pain from my stomach, and so he called an ambulance and it took me to hospital," continued Farah. "I then had to be airlifted to the main hospital as they thought something was going on with my heart. It was just crazy. I was in hospital for four days and it was scary."

Though doctors could find no reason for his collapse, the 31-year-old Farah, who also blacked out after the New York half marathon in March, was released from hospital after four days and given the all-clear to resume training at the high altitude base at Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees.

"I was doing a track session and Paula Radcliffe [the British 2005 Marathon world champion] was timing me and she told me I should stop," said Farah. "When someone like Paula tells you to stop, you know there is something wrong."

Farah said he was bitterly disappointed he couldn't compete in the Commonwealth Games "for all the people who bought tickets," but believes he is now back in great shape and looking to repeat his double triumph at the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona. "As an athlete it all started at those Europeans," he said. "Once I'd won there you've got the confidence and then it was about the worlds where I won and came second, but the Europeans is where it all started."

Australian steeplechaser Genevieve LaCaze was the star of the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony after she gatecrashed the stage during Kylie Minogue's set to celebrate her 25th birthday and, as she explained afterwards, get a bit of "TV time".

The athlete popped up on stage as Kylie disappeared for a costume change, and took her place alongside a group of topless male dancers, before being removed.

Afterwards she told Australian TV: "I just wanted a little bit of claim to fame. I wanted a little bit of TV time; I am turning 25, so why not.

"I haven't gotten in trouble yet. I could have grabbed the microphone and shown a little bit of vocals but I don't know how talented I am in that area."

"Her spontaneity was one of the highlights of the closing ceremony," says The Guardian. It notes that she was on stage for more than a minute before she was "escorted off by security guards, who appeared to be taken by surprise by the incursion".

Aside from gatecrashing athletes, the event's closing ceremony featured sets from Lulu and Deacon Blue as well as Kylie, who was representing the Games' next destination, Gold Coast City in Australia.

"It was a fitting end to a triumphant Commonwealth Games," says Oliver Brown of the Daily Telegraph. And the festivities began after another day of success for British athletes, with cyclists Geraint Thomas and Lizzie Armitstead claiming gold in the men and women's road races. Emma Pooley of England was second in the women's race in her final outing before retirement.

"The Games have been a vindication... of the investment in Olympic sports after 2012," adds Brown. "After Britain's total of 29 gold medals at those Games, the greatest haul since 1908, England supplanted Australia at the summit of the Commonwealth Games medal table for the first time in 28 years, with 58 golds to 49."

The Commonwealth Games appear "a strange concept in 2014, born of imperialistic avarice," says Rick Broadbent of The Times. "But the frontiers are wider in many ways than at any other sporting event."

The smaller nations are able to participate, even if their athletes are not at elite level, while there are superstars to enjoy as well.

Cynics compare them unfavourably to the Olympics, "but the Commonwealth Games actually top the Olympics in various ways", says Broadbent. "They are less despoiled by rampant commercialism, include popular, accessible sports, such as squash and netball, and they include Para-sport as more than a token."

But the success of the Glasgow Games has been down to the people of the city, says Andy Bull of The Guardian, who describes them as the first "selfie Games".

The sport is often obscure and far below elite level (Malaysia vs Niue in lawn bowls, for example) but the events were almost all sold out and the fans were there to have fun.

"The Games are unashamedly of and for the host city. If the locals aren't into it, don't enjoy it, then the Games look ridiculous and feel redundant, as they did in Delhi," Bull says. "The enthusiasm of hundreds of thousands of Glaswegians has been the 'amazing', 'astonishing', 'astounding', thing about these Games, not the sport. This has been the city's success."

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This weekend, Glasgow bids farewell to the Commonwealth games, but the debate about the importance of the organisation itself will continue long after the athletes have left.

The Commonwealth, made up of 2.2 billion citizens from 53 independent nations spanning six continents, has divided opinion for most of its existence.

But after celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, how relevant is an organisation that has often described as an "extension of colonialism"? A former director general of the Royal Commonwealth Society admitted to Channel 4 news that there is "widespread disinterest" and discontent within the organisation itself.

How do ordinary people feel about the Commonwealth?

In 2009 the Commonwealth conducted its largest-ever global poll across several member states. The results from Jamaica, Australia, South Africa, India, Canada, Malaysia and the UK revealed a "worrying mix of indifference, ignorance and imbalance".

The organisation discovered:

• Support among developed countries is lowest.
• Only one in three people could name anything the Commonwealth did.
• A quarter of Jamaicans think the organisation is run by Barack Obama.
• Britons were the third least likely to care about the Commonwealth.

The colonial legacy

Formerly known as the British Commonwealth, the organisation was originally seen as a way of uniting former British Empire colonies.

Last year, the Gambia withdrew from the Commonwealth, becoming the second country after Zimbabwe to sever links with the organisation. President Yahya Jammeh described it as a "neo-colonial institution".

"It has become clear that the sole purpose of the body is to promote white interests - that is why it was founded and that continues to be the case today", Didymus Mutasa, who was foreign affairs secretary for Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF party when it left the Commonwealth told the BBC.

But commentators say these exits were more likely in response to criticism faced from other member states on their human rights record.

Human rights abuses

The Commonwealth is often criticised for not going far enough to take action against countries guilty of severe human rights abuses.

In 2011, an eminent persons group made up of figures from across the Commonwealth suggested that widespread homophobia needed to be tackled, particularly in countries where it interferes with efforts to address and treat HIV/Aids, Al Jazeera reports.

But current statistics suggest little has changed. Of the 53 Commonwealth nations, 42 currently have anti-homosexuality legislation, with punishment varying from fines to the death penalty, the International Business Times reports. Campaigners argue that nothing has been done by the organisation to push for a change in these laws and attitudes.

But it isn't all about the politics

Controversies and politics aside, its proponents argue that there is a much more human aspect to the Commonwealth. There is a section of the organisation commonly referred to as "the people's Commonwealth", which comprises of "hundreds of voluntary, independent, professional, philanthropic and sporting organisations" that work to help better the lives of people in those countries, according to research published by the Canadian Historica-Dominion Institute.

It gives everyone a voice

Every two years, leaders meet at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to discuss issues affecting each country and the organisation as a whole. By allowing equal representation for all states it gives smaller nations an international platform they wouldn't otherwise have and creates a "forum for ideas that often do not get onto the mainstream agenda", says Professor Tim Shaw, director of the London-based Institute of Commonwealth Studies.

Trade and aid benefits for developing nations

Rwanda is the Commonwealth's newest member after being admitted in 2009, following a six year-long bid. President Paul Kagame told Voice of America that the trade and investment benefits would prove to be "pivotal" to the Rwandan economy and that his country had joined the Commonwealth "in the pursuit of opportunities and openness for Rwandan citizens".

English sprinter Jodie Williams won her first senior medal in the women's 200m in Glasgow, ending three years of injury torment for an athlete who was nicknamed 'Moneylegs' as a junior and touted as a global supertar after winning 151 consecutive races.

She and compatriot Bianca Williams, no relation, came home second and third behind the majestic Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria, who completed an impressive Commonwealth sprint double at a wet Hampden Park.

Another English runner, Anyika Onuora, was fourth, with the three Jamaican runners relegated to fifth, sixth and eighth in the field.

All three of the English women ran personal bests in a race that may have been dominated by the Nigerian but could "mark a watershed moment for women's sprinting" in Britain, according to the Daily Mail.

Jodie Williams (above, right), 20, has been touted as the next big thing in women's athletics since her days as a junior. In 2011 British coach Charles van Commenee even described her as "the sort of athlete every country is waiting for".

After dominating as a junior, she was expected to announce herself on the world stage at the London Olympics. But 2012 did not go as planned and after a series of niggling injuries she pulled up lame during the British Olympic trials and missed the rest of the season.

Williams was given tickets to the Olympics but found watching her team-mates so upsetting that she had to leave the stadium.

She spent 2013 on the comeback trail but failed to make the 200m final at the World Championships as her "slow rate of recovery made her doubt whether she would ever make podiums again," says Athletics Weekly.

There were fears that Williams might go the way of other talented youngsters and fail to make the grade as a senior. Before the Games, the BBC said that for Williams the "Commonwealths represent a second coming of age as much as first opportunity".

She told the BBC: "Once you've had a hit like that, it's hard to get it back. You know your body is fit and well, but you don't know whether you'll be able to run those times you could before the injury. It's one thing your body being fit and another getting that mental confidence back."

It was a bomb that would have brought a smile to the cheeks of Peter Kay. Unfortunately for Australian diver Melissa Wu her splash crash came in the Commonwealth Games ten metre platform competition where she had hoped to challenge for a medal.

Wu, one of the favourites in the event after taking silver in 2010, followed in the footsteps of compatriot Grant Nel and Malaysian Ahmad Amsyar Azman who had both crash-landed in the springboard competition.

But while their flops were from just a few metres, Wu's wipeout was from a rather more daunting height and was an even bigger shock.

The day before yesterday’s dive, the 22-year-old Wu had been given a glowing build-up by Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper, which proclaimed her as a woman whose "sporting career is defined by the quest for perfection".

A double medallist at the 2010 Commonwealths, Wu also scooped silver in the 2008 Olympics in the synchro ten metre platform, the youngest Australian in history to win an Olympic diving medal.

In Edinburgh, where the diving competition is being held, Wu admitted she was "a bit of a perfectionist" and said: "I’ve got a really good feeling about it... I think I’m in a really good space at the moment."

Alas, Wu found herself in a less good place when slipped as she launched into her first dive which, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, was intended to be a forward three-and-a-half somersault. Instead of arrowing into the water without a ripple, Wu ended up hitting the pool feet first and creating waves – literally and metaphorically – in the Tollcoss International Swimming Centre.

Not since Peter Kay’s brilliant display of bombing in a TV commercial for beer a few years back has a diver emptied a pool of so much water. Unlike Peter Kay, whose 'running bomb' was awarded perfect tens by all seven judges, Wu ended up with zero points after her effort was ruled a failed dive.

Fortunately she was unhurt and showed pluck to continue in the competition, finishing 11th overall and reflecting later: "It is really scary and you panic in the air and that’s why I don't remember thinking, I just came out and my body automatically came out... It was a bit of a shock really."

Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, has apparently described the Commonwealth Games as "a bit s***".

Asked if he was enjoying himself in Glasgow, the sprinter replied, "Not really," The Times reports. "The Olympics were better," he added

Although he has now denied ever making the comments, here are seven reasons he may have been right:

No China, Russia or USA

Can you really have an athletics competition without inviting the world's best athletes?

Australia winning everything

Australia winning things is galling at the best of times. But in our own backyard, in a competition that seems to be loaded in their favour?

Obscure sports

Squash, lawn bowls and mountain biking? These are not serious sports.

Royal photobombing

Stealing the limelight from sporting heroes and heroines. We are not amused.

The Scottish team uniform

We are fine with the idea of men wearing skirts. But not these skirts.

The Opening Ceremony

Dancing tea cakes. Need we say more?

Rod Stewart and Susan Boyle

Oh wait, yes we do. Rod Stewart and Susan Boyle. Och.

A nursery worker who was "signed off sick" faces the sack after her bosses spotted her taking part in the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony dressed as a giant Tunnock's tea cake.

According to the Scottish Daily Record, Amy McIntosh had been off sick for several weeks when her employers spotted her on television during the celebrations in Glasgow.

The 25-year-old had volunteered to be part of the Games but had apparently not asked for time off for the rehearsals, which began three weeks ago.

A source at the Woodlands Day Nursery in Houston, Renfrewshire, said: "Nobody could believe it when they saw her on TV, bold as brass."

The nursery insider accused her of "playing the system by taking time off and getting sick pay as well". They added that McIntosh would have been given time off if she had asked. "If she came to us, we would have let her have time off," they said. "We are very much for the Commonwealth, very much for Scotland."

McIntosh, from Erskine, confirmed that she had been off sick at the time of the ceremony. "I have been signed off sick by a doctor and have a referral for the hospital," she said. An official spokesman for Woodlands declined to comment.

The Tunnock's tea cake dancers were one of the "hits" of the opening ceremony, which was watched by more than nine million viewers last Wednesday night, says The Guardian.

The £20m ceremony also featured a giant haggis, 41 Scottish terriers, Rod Stewart and a gay wedding.

The Glasgow 2014 organisers are using the Games' official auction website to sell various pieces of memorabilia, including chairs, fishing boats, an Edinburgh cannon and even a flushing toilet from the opening ceremony. Last night, one of the teacake props was sold for £1,605.

Few English footballers are given a warm reception at Hampden Park in Glasgow, but former player Adam Gemili was cheered to the rafters as he claimed a silver medal in the men's 100m final at the Commonwealth Games on Monday night.

The 20-year-old, who was once on Chelsea's books but gave up football to concentrate on sprinting, came second to Jamaican superstar-in-waiting Kemar Bailey-Cole in the biggest track event of the competition, and when he realised it, his delight was evident.

"The incredulous grin on Adam Gemili's face spoke of a promise fulfilled," says Oliver Brown of the Daily Telegraph.

It was Gemili's first seior medal and by splitting the "formidable" Jamaican trio of Bailey-Cole, Nickel Ashmeade and Jason Livermore he proved that "his longer-term target of winning a medal at the Rio Olympics remained firmly intact".

The young sprinter has "truly announced himself on the global stage", says Laura Williamson in the Daily Mail. "Gemili's time may not have been as quick as the 10.07secs he clocked in the semi-final and he has still to break that magical ten-second barrier but, quite frankly, who cares. That will come," she adds.

Gemili's medal must be seen as a "minor surprise" says Sean ingle of The Guardian. He was not ranked in the top ten in the Commonwealth ahead of the Games. "But it was only a matter of time for the good vibrations, which have been growing ever since Gemili decided to switch from semi-professional football with Dagenham & Redbridge to athletics in 2011, to be realised."

However, the "understated" reaction of the winner, Bailey-Cole, was "telling" notes Ingle. "He had expected to win, and win he did."

But despite the absence of stars like Usain Bolt, Gemili's achievement should not be underestimated. "As always at a Commonwealth Games, there will be those who compare the quality of the field unfavourably to that of an Olympics or World Championships," says Tom Fordyce of the BBC.

"That is a little like criticising the FA Cup for not being the Champions League. They are different competitions with their own legitimacy, and Gemili's delight told its own tale. For him to split the Jamaicans is a significant achievement."

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Mo Farah: The double Olympic champion pulled out of the Commonwealth Games on the first day of competition, citing illness that had hampered his preparations. Farah tried his hand at the marathon earlier this year but collapsed after a race in New York (above). The change in his training routine, combined with illness, scuppered his efforts to get fit for Glasgow.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson: With Jessica Ennis-Hill on maternity leave, KJT, as she is known, was expected to announce herself at Glasgow and seemed set to take the Games by storm after a stellar season in which she has risen to number one in the world. But a "stress reaction" in her take off foot in the long jump has forced her to pull out.

Yohan Blake: The Jamaican sprinter, known as 'The Beast', announced he would not be taking part in the Commonwealth Games shortly before the Diamond League meeting at Hampden Park, where the Games will be held, earlier this month. He said he was withdrawing from Glasgow 2014 in order to protect his troublesome hamstring. He then tore the muscle in the 100m final.

Fiji: If one country is synonymous with a single sport it is Fiji with rugby sevens. However, the Pacific Islanders will not have a team at Glasgow 2014 as their suspension from the Commonwealth was only lifted after the draw for the team events had been made. The country, which missed the 2010 ames, was only readmitted to the Commonwealth earlier this year after a military coup in 2006.

Mark Cavendish: The cyclist was hoping to compete for the Isle of Man in the road race at this year's Commonwealth Games after finishing the Tour de France. However, the 'Manx Missile' dislocated his shoulder in a crash on the very first stage of the Tour in Yorkshire, and was ruled out of the Games after undergoing surgery.

Jessica Ennis-Hill: The Olympic heptathlete's absence was flagged up well in advance when she announced she was pregnant with her first child. The poster-girl of the 2012 London Games gave birth to a boy just last week.

Asafa Powell: With Usain Bolt only running in the relay, Yohan Blake out injured and Powell banned, Jamaica's sprint team looks a lot less imposing than usual. Powell will miss the games as he was suspended from competition for 18 months in April after testing positive for a banned substance called oxilofrine.

Becky James: The two-time track cycling world champion has endured a tough year and was forced to pull out of the games because of a knee injury. That came after an abnormal smear test, which meant she had to take time off from her training routine. The Welsh medal hope said she was "terribly disappointed".

Bradley Wiggins won't compete in the Tour de France again after admitting he is "done” with road racing. The winner of the 2012 Tour was controversially overlooked for this year's event by Team Sky and that decision appears to have left its mark on the 34-year-old. "I've kind of done the road now,” Wiggins told BBC Sport. "I've bled it dry... [so] that will probably be it for the Grand Tours. I can't imagine doing that now."

Wiggins, the leader of Team Sky for many years, was replaced in that role by Chris Froome, the 2013 Tour winner, for this year's race although the decision appeared to backfire when Froome was forced out of the event after a heavy fall.

Though he avoided commenting directly on his demotion, Wiggins admitted he had "had my time" as a road racer. "Things move on and it's natural evolution," he added. He also acknowledged that his team now had other priorities. "Team Sky has become so competitive now and it's all about winning Grand Tours. It's whether they've got a place for an ex-Tour winner to use the racing to prepare for the track."

Wiggins was speaking shortly after his of hopes of adding a Commonwealth Games gold to his four Olympic titles were dashed by Australia at Glasgow's Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on Thursday evening. Instead he and the English pursuit team had to settle for silver with New Zealand taking bronze in their race-off with Canada.

It was a disappointing result for the English as the Australian team of Jack Bobridge, Luke Davison, Alex Edmondson and Glenn O'Shea set a new Commonwealth Games record of 3min 54.85sec, far superior to England's 4.00.136.

It was sweet revenge for Australia who, at the 2012 London Olympics, finished second to a Great Britain team that included English riders Ed Clancy and Steven Burke.

Two years ago, after winning the Tour de France, Wiggins focused on the time trial at the London Olympics but had hoped to use Thursday's team pursuit as the launchpad for a return to the track at the 2016 Olympics. Instead he was given a harsh lesson in track cycling six years after he last competed in an indoor arena.

"We were all on different levels," admitted Wiggins. Acknowledging they were well beaten by Australia, who also triumphed at this year's World Championships in Colombia, he tried in time-honoured sporting fashion to take a positive from the crushing defeat. "Four weeks ago we sat in a room for the first time in six years and wondered how far we can go," explained Wiggins. "We've had limited preparations for this and hopefully we will look back in two years' time with gold medals around our necks thinking 'this was the starting point in Glasgow'.”

As for his individual performance, Wiggins admitted he has much work to do between now and 2016. "I need to put some muscle on and get stronger,” he said. "It's going to be two years of graft and we can't underestimate how much work we have ahead to get in the right place for Rio."

Olympic champion Mo Farah has become the latest big name to pull out of the Commonwealth Games, announcing his decision on the first day of competition in Glasgow.

The English runner, who won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the London Olympics has concentrated on longer distances for most of this season and had his preparations for the Games hampered by illness after being hospitalised for two days with a stomach problem.

He announced his withdrawal the morning after the opening ceremony in Glasgow. He said it was a "tough decision" but explained: "The sickness I had two weeks ago was a big setback for me.

"I really wanted to add the Commonwealth titles to my Olympic and World Championships but the event is coming a few weeks too soon for me as my body is telling me it's not ready to race yet."

The news is a "major blow" for the Games, which has lost another of its box office stars, says The Guardian. It also damages the English team's medal prospects in the athletics events.

Farah's withdrawal comes after heptathlete Katerina Johnson-Thompson, the heir to new mum Jessica Ennis-Hill's throne, pulled out because of a foot injury and sprinter Dwain Chambers elected to focus on the European Championships.

With Farah and Ennis-Hill sidelined, Greg Rutherford will be the only one of Team GB's trio of 'Super Saturday' Olympic gold-medallists to compete in Glasgow, notes the Daily Telegraph.

"Farah has just run once on the track this year, in a low-key meeting in Oregon, having spent the early part of the year preparing for his marathon debut in London, where he finished eighth," notes The Times.

The longer distances have disrupted his schedule, says Steve Cram of the BBC. "Running the marathon earlier in the year has upset his normal pattern and had an impact on his summer," he said.

The controversial doubles tennis match between David Cameron and Boris Johnson and a husband-and-wife team with links to Vladmir Putin is still on, despite EU ambassadors meeting today to consider tougher sanctions against Russia over the downing of Flight MH17.

Lubov Chernukhin, a London-based banker whose husband Vladimir was deputy finance minister during Putin's first term as president, won the right to the "ultimate tennis match" - as it was dubiously billed – when she made an unbeatable £160,000 bid for it at a Tory party fund-raising event earlier this month.

Cameron has been urged by politicians on both sides to call off the match and return the cash. Labour MP John Mann said: "He has got to hand the money back – it is one of the easiest sanctions that can be imposed… He [Cameron] cannot be seen to be consorting on a tennis court with individuals who have been part of Putin's inner circle."

But the PM is refusing to do any such thing and the game is on, according to today's Daily Telegraph.

Whoever wins the match – and the Mole, having seen Dave and Boris in action before, has his money on the Russians – the loser, politically at least, looks like being the Prime Minister.

The Tory party's story is that while the Chernukhins were once viewed as "inadmissable" donors, they are no longer considered as such, having distanced themselves from the Putin regime since Chernukhin was sacked by Putin in 2004. They live in London and both have become British citizens. Their money is as good as any multi-millionaire's, say the Tories.

Try explaining that, however, to your European allies – especially President Hollande of France who has been under pressure from Cameron to tear up a E1.2 billion contract with Moscow over the provision of two helicopter assault ships, one of which is ready for action and has been paid for.

To borrow from the Wimbledon lexicon, Hollande, informed of Cameron's tennis match, had every right to respond: "You cannot be serious!"

Needless to say, the Mayor of London has played his part in making the entire episode as awkward as possible. When he was first asked about the controversy, Johnson told Sky News: "I know about this tennis match - they volunteered me to play tennis with some geezer and it's very, very important that full checks are carried out to ensure this is not someone who is an intimate of Putin or a crony and we are doing that at the moment."

Then Cameron, speaking on a visit to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, said that handing the money back was not "the right approach" because Mrs Chernukhin had "lived in Britain for many years" and was now a British citizen.

At which point Boris quickly fell into line, issuing a statement that said: "We need to exert maximum pressure on Putin to do the right thing in Ukraine by targeting him and his cronies.

"I'm assured by the government that Mr Chernukhin doesn't fall into that category. It's important that we don't lash out with measures that would simply attack all Russians everywhere."

Boris, of course, will have been delighted to be let off the hook by Cameron. He doesn’t want to put off the wealthy Russians who are keep the London Stock Exchange buoyant and help maintain London property prices at boiling point.

But the backlash against Cameron for apparently demanding one rule for France and another for Britain increased yesterday when it emerged from the all-party Commons Committee on Arms Exports Controls that Britain has export licences worth £132 million for arms to Russia. Hypocrisy – moi? Non, non, non - they're mainly sniper rifles and night sights are for hunting, not for warfare, says Downing Street.

What the EU ambassadors decide today remains to be seen. A European Commission options paper issued to EU capitals last night includes a ban on all European citizens from investing in stocks issued by the Russian banks. The Financial Times, which has seen the paper, says it is highly unlikely the EU ambassadors will go that far.

Other options include an embargo on the transfer of energy technology (but that could impact on the EU economy) and an arms embargo (but that would largely hurt former Soviet countries who still need to import spare parts from Russia to keep their old Soviet arsenals on the go). So Cameron can’t expect much support from today’s EU meeting.

All this, coming so soon after the Jean-Claude Juncker debacle, augurs badly for Cameron’s hopes of ever persuading his European partners that Britain should be able to repatriate powers from Brussels.

Still, Cameron's not the only one whistling in the wind. The Daily Telegraph is reporting that members of Angela Merkel’s party in Germany are calling for Fifa to strip Russia of the 2018 World Cup. Anyone who understands the workings of the world football authority will know that the idea of Fifa taking such high-minded action is for the birds.

The 20th Commonwealth Games officially began in Glasgow on Wednesday evening and the opening ceremony has divided opinion among the British media. An "exuberant, good-humoured, periodically chaotic evening" was how the Daily Mail described the ceremony, featuring as it did a giant haggis, cabers, golf clubs, a gay wedding, 41 Scottish terriers, Rod Stewart and, of course, the Queen.

The Times awarded Glasgow "gold" for the ceremony but wondered if there should have been more emphasis on the Games and sport rather than transforming the event "into an international fundraising exercise", with actor Ewan McGregor urging the 40,000 spectators in the Celtic Park stadium – and the one billion television viewers – to "donate £5 each to international charities".

The most stinging criticism comes in The Guardian. Acknowledging the humour and energy in the ceremony, the paper nonetheless ridiculed Alex Salmond – the country's First Minister – and his promise that the ceremony would "show the world the very best of Scotland". It did that all right, says the Guardian, provided "your definition of the country's greatest output includes pipers, dancing Tunnock's teacakes, Scottie dogs and Susan Boyle singing Mull of Kintyre".

The political significance of the event, two months out from the independence referendum, was not lost, even in Australia. There was a "sharp intake of breath" when the queen arrived and it was time for the national anthem, says Malcolm Knox of the Sydney Morning Herald. "What was it to be? Flower of Scotland, the anthem of the host nation? Scotland the Brave? Or one of the anthems of the Glasgow football club that has made its home at Parkhead for a century and a quarter? Come Out Ye Black and Tans, anyone?" In the end, God Save the Queen was sung in the spirit of "togetherness".

An appearance by Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was also significant, says Knox, and highlighted the difference between these games and the Olympics. Tendulkar "may not be a world figure, but he is certainly a Commonwealth one".

But with the swirl of the bagpipes having died away, attention now turns to 11 days of sport beginning today with a packed schedule that includes two of Britain's stars of the 2012 Olympics in action.

English brothers Alistair and Jonny Brownlee go for gold in the triathlon with Alistair the Olympic champion and his younger brother the bronze medallist two years ago. Since then, however, injury and illness have curtailed Alistair's career but for the first time in nearly two years he is injury free and coming back to the form he showed in London. "To be honest, I haven't – because of injuries – been able to put together a normal six-week block of training since London 2012 until recently," he explained earlier in the week. "But now everything is fine. I'm fit and there's nothing wrong, which is not something I've said very often in the last few years. The last few weeks have gone well."

Similarly, Bradley Wiggins has been bedevilled by injury in the two years since he won the 2012 Tour de France and then gold in the Olympic Time Trial. Dropped from Team Sky for this year's Tour, the 34-year-old has a point to prove in Glasgow as he returns to the track after six years on the road. Competing for England in the team pursuit along with Steve Burke, Ed Clancy and Andy Tennant, Wiggins hopes to add a Commonwealth title to his medal collection having won three silvers in his two previous Commonwealth appearances.

Wiggins will be racing in the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome, named after Britain's most decorated Olympian, and the Londoner is planning to use the Commonwealth Games as the first step in an audacious bid to steal Hoy's Olympic record in two years' time at the Rio Olympics. With four Olympics golds to his name so far, Wiggins has ambitions of competing in the team pursuit, individual pursuit, time-trial and the road race at the 2016 Games. Were he to win gold in all four he would have one more gold than Hoy's tally of seven.

In Glasgow he's limiting himself to the team pursuit only as he looks to put two years of injury and ill-health behind him. "I thought just focus on the Olympic event rather than try to be too greedy," he said. "The initial thing, having been away [from the track] for so long, was whether I could still do it straight away. The initial signs were really good and since then I've just been focusing on the team pursuit."

Usain Bolt: Top of the bill at Glasgow 2014 is the Jamaican sprint legend. He may only be taking part in the men's 4x100m relay but his ten second cameo will be one of the most eagerly awaited moments of the games. Compatriot and fellow Olympic gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will also run in the women's event.

Bradley Wiggins: The English cyclist will return to track cycling in Glasgow after being controversially left out of the Team Sky squad currently competing in the Tour de France. The 2012 Tour winner and Olympic gold medallist has shelved plans to compete in multiple events and will instead focus on the team pursuit.

Alistair Brownlee: The English Olympic triathlon champion will be in action on the first day of the Games along with his brother, Jonny, who claimed the bronze at the London Games in 2012. Brownlee has been dogged by injury since 2012 and says he had not managed a six week training block until earlier this year. He will have to be at his best to hold off his younger brother.

Valerie Adams: The New Zealand shot putter dominates her sport and the four-time World champion and two-time Olympic champion will add a 17th major gold medal to her collection if she takes a third successive Commonwealth title in Glasgow.

Stuart Hogg: The Scot will be making his international sevens debut in Glasgow, but rugby fans should know all about the 22-year-old, who plays full-back for Glasgow Warriors. He already has 24 caps for Scotland and was part of the British Lions squad that beat Australia in 2013. New Zealander Pita Ahki is another young star tipped to make an impact in the 15-man sport to watch out for in Glasgow.

David Rudisha: Kenya's Olympic 800 metres champion and world record-holder has made the Commonwealth Games his priority this season, turning down a more lucrative schedule to be ready for Glasgow. He said competing in the Games would be an "honour" and he has set his sights on gold after losing his world title last year through injury.

Chad Le Clos: His father, Bert, stole the show at the London Olympics thanks to an emotional TV interview after Chad beat Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly final. This time Le Clos Jr will be hoping for a bit of limelight himself in Glasgow, and the South African is being tipped to win as many as four gold medals.

Sally Pearson: The Australian Olympic gold medallist will be hoping to defend her Commonwealth 100m hurdles crown in Glasgow. She could also run in the 100m flat event. In Delhi four years ago she won the final of the flat race but was controversially disqualified after the race for a false start.

Nicol David: The Malaysian world number one is clear favourite to win gold in the women's squash event. She is the reigning World and Commonwealth champion and has seven World Open titles to her name, although England's Laura Massaro won this year's event and could pose a very real threat.

With less than a week to go before the start of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow there were mixed emotions for the organisers on Wednesday. On the one hand there was confirmation from Mo Farah that he will be fit to compete in the 5000m and 10,000m after recovering from illness. That announcement, however, was overshadowed by the news that Welsh' 800m runner Gareth Warburton has withdrawn from the Games for an anti-doping violation.

Warburton is one of Britain's most experienced middle-distance runners, representing Team GB in the 2012 London Olympics and finishing fourth for Wales in the Commonwealth Games 800m final four years ago in Delhi.

The 31-year-old from Caernarfon is of an age when most endurance runners have their best days behind them, but he has been in cracking form this season, clocking a time recently of 1:46.75, the third fastest time by a British athlete this year.

Now Warburton has reportedly tested positive for an unnamed prohibitive substance, and the news has left him in "great shock". He said: "I would like to state that I have not knowingly taken any banned substance. As a professional athlete, I have always supported and have been an advocate of clean sport. Nothing has changed in this regard."

The UK Anti-Doping agency emphasised the Welshman remains innocent until his case is determined by a full hearing before the National Anti-Doping Panel, but Warburton has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games. "I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the best to all my team-mates heading to the Commonwealth Games and apologise that I won't be able to join them as part of Team Wales," said Warburton in a statement.

One man who will be in Glasgow, however, is double Olympic and world champion Mo Farah. The Englishman pulled out of last weekend's Diamond League meeting in Glasgow because of illness, thought to be linked to the abdominal pains that saw him hospitalised in the USA at the start of the month. That led to speculation that Farah might not make it to Glasgow, a repeat of the situation in 2010 when he missed the Games in Delhi citing fatigue.

But Farah took to Twitter on Wednesday to send a message to his legion of fans. "Training is going good! Next stop Commonwealth Games," he declared from his Pyrenean training base in Font Romeu.

The Commonwealth Games begin on Wednesday and Farah goes first in the 5,000m final on 27 July before lining up in the 10,000m final on 1 August.

Team Scotland's "eye-catching" new uniform for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has been dubbed the worst Games kit ever.

More than 400 athletes turned up for an official meeting in Stirling to receive their new outfits, designed by Glasgow School of Art graduate Jilli Blackwood and produced by House of Edgar at the Isle Mill in Keith, Aberdeenshire. But no sooner had the pictures been posted on social media than the criticism started rolling in.

"Somewhere in Auchterarder, a tea room is missing its curtains," wrote Stephen Daisley at STV. "The shirts and dresses are not blue, not quite lapis lazuli, but the psycho-cerulean hue of a particularly vivid Smurfs doll. The kilts and shawls carry an amber, fuchsia, and aquamarine tartan, a curious mixture of the psychedelic and the twee. This is what the Sixties must have looked like in Ecclefechan."

The Team Scotland's Facebook page received a barrage of criticism from people describing the kit as "humiliating", "embarrassing" and "truly horrific". Others took to Twitter to denounce it as "wrong on so many levels" and "the worst kit ever".

Blackwood insisted the athletes had reacted positively and said that was "the only thing that counts". She told The Courier: "Does it hurt? I don't think I would be human if it didn't but I'm very brave and moving on all the time. Of course there's going to be reaction. If I had got no reaction, I think that would have been far more upsetting."

Rugby Sevens player Scott Lee tactfully described it as "very comfortable and eye-catching".

At least Australia's Commonwealth team will be breathing a sigh of relief. Their uniforms were mocked for featuring three different shades of clashing green, but today Australian newspapers are celebrating the fact that their athletes won't be the worst dressed.

"If you thought Australia's Commonwealth Games uniform was bad," writes the Herald Sun, "it isn't a stitch on the host country's horror design."