THE Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will make global sport history by becoming the first ever major multi-sport event to award more medals to women than men.
The medal event programme confirms there will be 136 medal events for women and 134 for men.
This will see the Birmingham 2022 Games go one step further than the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, when there were an equal number of medals for women and men.
Birmingham 2022’s sports programme includes T20 cricket for women for the first time at a Commonwealth Games, with eight teams competing at the internationally renowned Edgbaston Stadium.
There will be 13 mixed events, more than ever before, including synchronised 3m springboard diving and synchronised 10m platform diving, swimming relays, and para athletics relays.
10km race walks for men and women have also been added to the athletics programme.
This will give athletes like Team England’s Tom Bosworth, who won silver in the 20km road version of the event at the Gold Coast 2018 Games and World Junior 10km race walking champion, Callum Wilkinson, the chance to compete at more than one major championships in the summer of 2022.
The Games will also feature more para sport than any previous Commonwealth Games, with wheelchair basketball 3 x 3 included in the integrated programme for the first time, alongside para athletics, para swimming, para cycling track, para table tennis, para triathlon, para lawn bowls and para powerlifting.
Para athletics events like the 100m T33/34 and para swimming events like the 100m breaststroke SB6 are added for the first time, giving some of Britain’s best known para sport stars, such as Hannah Cockcroft, Kare Adenegan, Maisie Summers-Newton and Ellie Simmonds, the chance to compete at a Commonwealth Games for the first time in their careers.
Para athlete Hannah Cockroft MBE, who has five Paralympic golds and 12 World Championship golds, said: “When I heard that there was going to be an event that I can target at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games I nearly cried.
“This is such amazing news as I didn’t think I was going to get this opportunity in my career and it has been the medal missing from my collection for all of these years.”
Ian Reid, CEO of Birmingham 2022, said: “Our event programme has been specifically designed to reach new audiences and champion the growth of women’s sport.
“I am certain that fans will come in their droves to cheer on the most diverse range of events ever held at a Commonwealth Games, showcasing more female and para athletes than ever before.”
The daily schedule for Birmingham 2022, outlining which sports will be held on each of the 11 days of competition, was revealed last week and is available to view at www.birmingham2022.com
