Toprak Crowned Commonwealth Champion as Home Nations Win Six Medals on Glasgow 2026 Opening Day
July 31, 2026
An incredible first day of action at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games saw our home nations secure six medals, shared between Team England and Team Scotland, as our competition got underway with one Commonwealth Games champion and five bronze medals.
Acelya Toprak (England) claimed the final medal of the day and the best result of our home nations’ competitors in Glasgow, becoming Commonwealth Games champion for the first time in the -57kg category and securing our first gold medal of the competition.
Four years after winning silver in Birmingham, Toprak was determined to go one better this time and bring home the gold medal, and she did just that.
Dominant throughout the day, Acelya recorded an ippon win in her opening bout against Kaina Delrieu (VAN), sending her into an all-English semi-final against teammate Lele Nairne, where she came out on top. In the final, an exhausting seven-minute contest went into golden score before ending with a hansoku-make awarded to her opponent, Yamini Mourya (IND), crowning Toprak Commonwealth Games champion and securing her second consecutive Commonwealth Games medal.
Reflecting on how she feels, our Commonwealth Games champion said, “I’m really happy that it wasn’t a silver again. I’m happy to take the gold home. I’m a bit knackered now, but I’m happy it’s done and happy I’ve performed well.”
“In those four years I’ve moved from Azerbaijan back to Great Britain, and I’ve got a great club supporting me. My coach was in my corner today, and he’s my club coach as well. It was amazing having him there with me today. Everything just came together.”
Summer Shaw (Scotland) secured the first home nations medal of the tournament, taking bronze in the -48kg category.
Starting her day in a Celtic clash against Ashleigh Barnikel (WAL) in the quarter-final, Shaw was dominant, scoring a yuko before adding an ippon to book her place in the semi-final.
She went on to face Asmita Day (IND), who came out on top on this occasion before going on to win the gold medal. With a chance to claim a medal on her Commonwealth Games debut at her home Games in Scotland, Shaw stepped up in the bronze medal contest and secured victory with an ippon against Botho Babutsi (BOT) to earn her place on the podium.
Speaking of her success, Summer said: “That’s the best moment of my career so far. I’ve won a few medals when I was younger – I got a bronze at the Youth Olympics, and that just left me hungry for more, but that was even more incredible.”
Charlie Ayre (England) claimed the next home nations medal, securing bronze in the -60kg category on his Commonwealth Games debut.
Ayre started his day in the quarter-final with a dominant victory over Winsley Gangaya (MRI), scoring a yuko before following it up with an ippon to progress to the semi-final, where he was unfortunately defeated. He then faced Regan Wali (KEN) in the bronze medal contest and showed impressive composure to secure victory and claim his first Commonwealth Games medal.
Speaking on how it felt to win bronze on his Commonwealth Games debut, Ayre said, “It’s a great feeling. You can really feel the support, and the atmosphere’s been brilliant. It’s really nice to end the day on a high.
“Not everything went to plan, but it’s been a great experience of a multi-sport event. There’s a lot of pressure and expectation that you have to put to one side, but it’s been a wonderful experience. I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Tatum Keen (England) secured a third home nations medal and a second for Team England as she claimed bronze in the -52kg category.
A strong performance in the quarter-final saw her progress comfortably to the semi-final, where a tough contest ended in disappointment and set up a bronze medal fight against fellow WCPP judoka Lola Hodson (WAL) in a home nations clash. It was an excellent contest between two athletes who know each other so well, and on this occasion it was Keen who emerged victorious after Hodson received hansoku-make, securing the first Commonwealth Games medal of her career.
Speaking on the result, Keen said, “I was really, really quite nervous going into the bronze medal contest. I’ve been in this position at the World Championships, European Championships, even Europeans, and so I was like, ‘Oh God, it’s another major. I need to get the bronze.’
“I’m just so happy I did it, with my family here as well. It’s such a good occasion.”
Michael Fryer (England) continued Team England’s successful run in the final block, also securing a first Commonwealth Games medal with bronze in the -66kg category on his debut.
His opening contest saw him face Neil MacDonald (SCO) in a gruelling encounter lasting almost nine minutes, with the fight going nearly five minutes into golden score. Both athletes received two shidos and scored a yuko before a third shido for the Scot saw Fryer progress to the quarter-final, where he was unfortunately beaten by the eventual silver medallist. In the repechage, he defeated Rohit Basir Majgul (IND) before facing Michael Agbo (NGR) in the bronze medal contest, where he sealed the all-important victory.
Speaking on his result, Fryer said, “I was maybe hoping for a little bit more, but once I’d lost in the quarter-final, the bronze became my next goal. It wasn’t easy, but to come away with the bronze medal, I’m happy.
“We don’t get to experience this sort of arena and atmosphere very often because it’s quite a small sport, so having this makes it a bit special.”
Lele Nairne (England) claimed the final bronze medal of the day, producing one of the standout moments of the session with a huge throw for ippon just 30 seconds into her bronze medal contest, to secure the Commonwealth Games medal she narrowly missed out on four years ago in Birmingham in the -57kg category.
Earlier in the day, Nairne recorded a strong opening victory over Marie Begue (MRI) in the quarter-final to progress to the semi-final in Glasgow, where she faced Birmingham 2022 silver medallist and Team England teammate Acelya Toprak. An excellent contest went Toprak’s way on this occasion, but Nairne responded in emphatic fashion to secure the bronze medal.
Speaking on facing her teammate in the semi-final and how she feels to win bronze, Nairne said, “We know each other very well. We’ve been fighting since we were probably about 14 years old. So yeah, one of us was going to go to the repechage today. To have to refocus my mind and get a medal, I’m happy.
“I just feel so happy that I’ve got a Commonwealth medal now. I came in wanting redemption. I wanted to get a medal because Birmingham was absolutely devastating. So to be here with a medal, I’m honestly over the moon.”
Outside of the medals, we saw fifth-place finishes from Eva Ewing (Scotland) and Lola Hodson (Wales), while Aiden Moffat (Scotland) finished seventh, with all three producing excellent performances throughout the day and doing their teams proud.
It was an incredible day of action from all of our home nations judoka. Congratulations to every athlete not only on their performances but on reaching the Commonwealth Games, which is an achievement in itself.
We can’t wait to see how our home nations get on tomorrow for Day 2!
