EXCLUSIVE: Team GB paralympian Hannah Cockcroft slams ‘small minded’ Austrialian officials for pulling out of hosting Commonwealth Games 2026
- EXCLUSIVE: Victoria pulled out of hosting the Commonwealth Games this week
- Team GB paralympian Hannah Cockcroft says officials are being ‘small minded’
The UK’s most decorated World Championship athlete Hannah Cockcroft has criticised an Australian state’s decision to pull out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games as ‘small-minded’ – but is hopeful another city will step up to save the championships.
Wheelchair racer Cockcroft spoke exclusively to MailOnline on Wednesday after returning from the World Championships, where she added another two gold medals to take her total to 14 separate titles.
But at the same time the assigned 2026 hosts were already planning to end their contract with the Commonwealth Games Federation, at an estimated cost of £1 billion.
The National Lottery funded athlete, who also has seven Olympic gold medals and one Commonwealth gold, told how she discovered the games were in jeopardy just hours after her final race.
‘It’s a massive shame,’ Cockcroft said, referencing Victoria’s withdrawal. ‘It’s a tough one, but you know games are going to cost a lot of money when you bid for it, so if you can’t afford it don’t bid for it.’
14-time World Champion Hannah Cockcroft is hopeful that another host will be found for the 2026 games
She added her first Commonwealth gold to her large medal collection in Birmingham 2022, the first time her category was available to her
The Paralympian appealed for the whole Commonwealth community to ‘work together to save [the Games]’ but says she understands that the Victoria community itself should ‘always come before sport.’
She said: ‘When I first saw it I was like – that’s a weird tweet, it must be a joke.’
But upon realising the tweet was real, she is now focusing on the hope that another venue will step forward and volunteer to host the ‘unique’ event.
‘It introduces us [Para athletes] to a whole new audience and a whole new team,’ Cockroft said.
‘It’s the only integrated games, so it’s the only time we can win a medal that is seen as of equal value to our able-bodied counterparts, and to be up their with our heroes and be a part of that team.
‘It’s also the only Championships where UK athletes can compete for their home nations.
‘I captained the England team at the 2022 Birmingham Games, but if there was a Yorkshire team I would be in it!’
Responding to statements by Victorian premier Daniel Andrews that the games were ‘all cost and no benefit’ and that it was an ‘easy’ decision to pull out of the bid, Cockcroft described his view as ‘small-minded’ and ‘rude’.
The state has claimed that the initial estimated cost of hosting has more than trebled, meaning it would outweigh any economic benefit.
The rights to host the 2026 event were awarded to regional Victoria last year after not one of the 70 countries in the Commonwealth Games Federation offered to host.
Mr Andrews said on Tuesday: ‘What’s become clear is the cost of hosting these games is not the $2.6billion which was allocated, it is at least $6billion or $7billion.’
However, he refused to say how the government’s costings for the Commonwealth Games ballooned by more than $4 billion and what the cost of scrapping the event will cost.
Cockcroft is optimistic about the future of the Commonwealth games, despite the current uncertainty
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews made the shock announcement that the state was ending its contract with the Commonwealth Games Federation on Tuesday
Cockcroft told MailOnline: ‘I think sporting events have a benefit for everyone. The boost to the economy in Birmingham last year was absolutely massive.
‘Little things like that are being overlooked but so is inspiration.
‘We see the same sports covered on TV day in, day out. The Commonwealth Games does cover some unique sports that people won’t have the opportunity to see anywhere else.
‘That’s going to inspire so many people to believe there is a sport for everyone and inspire them to look for ways to be active.
‘I think it’s really small-minded to say there’s no benefit – if more people watch sport, more people are healthy, and there’s less pressure on hospitals. There are way more benefits than not benefits.’
She continued: ‘Sport is for everyone. I really hope that someone steps in [for 2026] because I want to be there.’
Even if a new host is revealed, it is not guaranteed that Cockcroft will be able to attend the 2026 competition. Despite making her Olympic debut in 2012, the Birmingham games were the first she was eligible to compete in.
Each host has autonomy to decide which para events are included at the games, and Cockcroft’s T34 category for wheelchair racing has previously not been included.
It is currently unclear whether the Commonwealth Games will be able to take place, as it is dependent on finding another venue.
READ MORE: ‘Why aren’t we getting the cash?’ Hannah Cockroft calls for answers after overcoming hand injury to win her SEVENTH Paralympic gold… as British wheelchair racer questions the absence of medal prize-money
Many UK sports fans have queried whether the UK might step in.
While Cockcroft said she would love a home games and described the atmosphere at Birmingham in 2022 as ‘amazing’, she added: ‘We’ve had our turn. I’d really like to go to Canada, so if they could volunteer that would be great.’
Despite the current uncertainties, Cockcroft is confident of the Games’ future.
She said: ‘Sometimes sport gets far too political and we just need to enjoy it for what it is.
‘I think that the uniqueness is what is needed to make the Commonwealth Games last.
‘Birmingham was the biggest Para programme that’s ever been run, and there were more female events than male, things like that are what makes it different.’
And standing out is just what Cockcroft does best.
Although she initially started out in wheelchair basketball and then athletics events such as discus throwing, she knew that racing was for her as soon as she got into her first racing chair – and has excelled ever since.
‘Racing was the first time I ever really got to feel independence. I was 15 when I got on the track.
‘For the first time in my whole life I wasn’t being told to slow down or be careful or having to rely on an adult to help me do something.
‘It was important for me to be out there, to be myself and to do what I wanted to do rather than having limitations being put on me.’
She now holds five world records in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m disciplines in addition to being the reigning world champion in the 100m and 200m.
Despite the uncertainty, she is focusing on the immediate – competing in London this weekend as part of the Diamond League before returning to winter training ahead of the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
And then, hopefully, the Commonwealth Games in 2026.
MailOnline approached the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to ask whether the UK was considering offering to host the 2026 games. A UK government spokesperson said: ‘Today’s announcement is disappointing for both fans and athletes.
‘We hope that the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia will now work together to find a viable solution to hosting the event in 2026 so that athletes have the chance to compete and fans have the opportunity to enjoy this incredible event.’
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