Australia finished top of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 70 gold medals and 171 in total. England, Canada, India, Scotland, New-Zealand and Nigeria followed close behind. But while the cameras stayed on the winners, another story was unfolding in Glasgow.
Between July 23 and August 2, 74 nations and territories sent about 3,000 athletes to compete in 10 sports. When it ended, 29 of those teams went home without a single medal. For many of them, just being in Glasgow was the win.
The Commonwealth Games brings everyone together. Big countries with big budgets compete side by side with small island nations that may only send a few athletes.
The Falkland Islands showed what that looks like. When their bowls event moved indoors, the team ended up training in a school corridor. It was not fancy, but it showed the kind of effort smaller teams make just to be part of the Games.
Across the city, athletes from countries with limited funding lined up next to athletes with full coaching teams and top facilities. They ran the same races. They swam in the same pools. They fought the same opponents.
For some, the target was a medal. For others, it was different. A faster time. A first Games appearance. Experience that can help them in four years. The chance to show young people back home that it is possible. You will not see those stories on the medal table. But they matter.
Glasgow also showed why it is important to keep showing up. Rwanda, Tuvalu and Dominica all won their first Commonwealth Games medals here. It proves that teams who come without medals today can break through tomorrow. The final table tells us who stood on the podium.
It does not tell us about the athletes who trained for years, traveled thousands of kilometers, and competed knowing the odds were against them.
Glasgow 2026 was not only about the champions. It also belonged to the 29 teams who showed up, gave their best, and left with lessons instead of medals. Below is the full list of teams that finished the Games without a medal.
Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo. (8)
Americas and Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Guyana, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands. (12)
Oceania: Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu. (5)
Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei, Maldives (3)
Europe: Gibraltar (1)
Total: 29 countries and territories out of 74 that participated.