Sunday 26 July delivered an active programme of competition for Malta at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with athletes across gymnastics and lawn bowls producing some very determined performances

Artistic Gymnastics

Philippa Busuttil completed the women’s all-around final in Glasgow on Sunday, finishing with an overall total of 41.50 across the four apparatus.

Having earned her place among the top qualifiers from across the Commonwealth, Busuttil opened on the uneven bars with a demanding routine, linking several release and transition elements before finishing with a controlled dismount for a score of 9.750. The balance beam proved a challenging rotation, but she fought through to complete her full routine. She then found her rhythm on floor, delivering all three tumbling passes — including a double tuck and a double twist — for a score of 10.450, in a routine whose headstand choreography drew a warm mention from commentators, before closing her competition on vault.

Competing in a final — a first for a Maltese gymnast — that featured Olympians such as Canada’s Ellie Black, Busuttil’s appearance marked another important step for Maltese gymnastics on the international stage.

Busuttil will compete again in the Balance Beam Final on Tuesday 28 July.

Lawn Bowls

In one of the day’s most dramatic matches, Malta’s Connie and Rebecca Rixon produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Tonga in their lawn bowls pairs event.

The match never looked like going Malta’s way. Tonga, reigning World Champions, dominated the opening end, taking it 10–0 with a commanding display that left little room for hope. But Malta’s pair refused to fold. Digging deep, they raised their game in the second end, eventually forcing a tie-break and holding their nerve to seal a deserved win — final score: 0–10, 6–4, 1–0.

In the afternoon, the Rixon sisters faced South Africa’s Thabelo Muvhango and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg, where their pairs campaign came to an end after a hard-fought contest.

The pair were once again slow to start, going down 7–0 in the opening set. Refusing to give in, they fought back strongly in the second and looked set to force a tie-break. Holding three shots on the fourth end, the South African skip produced a brilliant conversion, driving Rebecca’s bowls into the jack and promoting it into their own to claim the shot. South Africa went on to secure the second set 8–5, ending Malta’s Women’s Pairs campaign.

Meanwhile, it was an outstanding performance from Malta’s Shaun Parnis in the Men’s Singles as he delivered a commanding display against India’s Putul Sonowal in the opening set, winning 10–4 to put Malta firmly in control. Sonowal fought back strongly in the second, forcing a hard-fought 7–7 draw, but Parnis’ dominant first-set victory was enough to secure the overall match win.

Monday 27 July will see Maltese athletes continue in competition. In the morning, Claire Azzopardi and Graham Pellegrini hit the track in Heat 1 and Heat 3 respectively of the 100m Round 1 qualifying heats. The afternoon sees Kim Camilleri Laganà take on the Women’s 53kg All Groups category in Weightlifting, before Parnis rounds off the day in the early evening facing Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander in Round 5, Match 3 of the Men’s Singles Lawn Bowls.