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AAP
Roger Vaughan and Ian Chadband

Golden Glasgow: Aussies' lofty goals for new-look Games

Australia will unleash a star-studded team at a new-look Commonwealth Games featuring 10 sports. (Susie Dodds/AAP PHOTOS)

Australia's goals for the reimagined Games beg no imagination.

Win the most gold. Top the overall medal tally, with the most medallists. Dominate from day one at the pool.

Some three years nearly to the day since Victoria cancelled and went close to killing off the Commonwealth Games, Glasgow's rescue is complete.

At short notice and with a much-reduced budget, the 2014 hosts have created a self-styled "reimagined Games" that is vastly different to the previous edition in Birmingham.

One thing that hasn't changed from four years ago is that Australia remain the country to beat.

On a memorable last day in Birmingham, they topped the medal tally ahead of England as the Diamonds delivered the nation's 1000th Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Australia's 257-member Glasgow team boasts some of the nation's biggest sporting stars, such as pole-vaulting flag bearer Nina Kennedy and 'King' Kyle Chalmers.

Kyle Chalmers
Kyle Chalmers, a medal glutton and swimming superstar, is hungry for more success. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

But, with 215 gold medals up for grabs across 10 sports in a pared-back program, there have been few withdrawals of note.

Kaylee McKeown, a five-time Olympic gold medallist, is out with glandular fever while teenage sprint sensation Gout Gout decided to prioritise the under-20 world championships, before he was sidelined with a serious hamstring injury.

Two early Australian wins in the bowls, completed on the morning of the opening ceremony, were a good omen.

But day one, especially the swimming finals on Saturday morning (AEST), will be the first big statement.

A graphic illustration cr
It may be a trimmed-down event, yet there are still plenty of medals on offer in Glasgow. (Susie Dodds/AAP PHOTOS)

Australian team chef de mission Petria Thomas, a nine-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, is well-versed on what early success means for the wider team.

"A strong start to any Games is always helpful. The swimming is normally at the start of the program and our swim team is very strong - they do a great job in terms of winning medals and doing PBs," Thomas said.

"It's always good to have that at the start ... but we're strong across the board, in many sports."

Lani Pallister will start her campaign as the red-hot favourite in the 400m freestyle.

Mollie O'Callaghan, who has come into the Games with back stress fractures, will lead the world-record 4x100m women's freestyle relay team.

Australia's netballers enter
The 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games is now officially open. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

For much of the swimming team, the Games are only the first part of their international assignment. Next month, Australia will compete at the Pan Pacific championships in California.

But there will be added motivation for high performance in Glasgow, with benefactor Gina Rinehart confirming her cash incentive scheme for swimming medals and records at the Games.

The Diamonds will start their campaign on Sunday night (AEST) against Tonga and must hit the ground running. The following day, they have a massive clash with England, who lost to Australia in the Birmingham semi-finals.

The Australian Diamonds
The Diamonds will, yet again, be the team to beat at this Commonwealth Games. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

When the track and field program starts on Monday night (AEST) it will feature an Australian team enjoying a golden age.

Kennedy is fresh from posting the fifth-best height in the history of women's pole vault, emphatically showing she is over the hamstring injury that sidelined her for a year.

Cam Myers and Olli Hoare will run in a star-studded mile, taking on Scotland's new world-record holder Josh Kerr in a race that shapes as one of the highlights of the Games.

Likewise, Jess Hull leads a women's middle-distance group oozing form and depth.

High jumper Nicola Olyslagers is the reigning world champion. Torrie Lewis, Eddie Nketia and Lachlan Kennedy headline a strong sprint group.

Matt Denny of Australia durin
Matt Denny is one of many Australian athletes out to defend a Commonwealth Games crown. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

Reigning champion Matt Denny is expected to again dominate the discus.

Jemima Montag (10,000m walk) and Kurtis Marschall (pole vault), both aiming to win their third-successive Commonwealth Games gold medals, will also be ones to watch.

Elsewhere, Matt Richardson's shock defection to Great Britain means there will be plenty of spice in the sprint events at the track cycling. While Richardson is No.1 in the men's sprint, Australia should dominated the program at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome.

Eileen Cikamatana won her first weightlifting gold medal for Fiji in 2018, then defected to Australia and won again in Birmingham. After a podium near-miss at the Paris Olympics, she is a big medal favourite again in Glasgow.

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