• Debut – 2022
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 0
• Birmingham 2022 events – 4
• Most gold medals – N/A

Although basketball has been a part of the Commonwealth Games at the Melbourne 2006 and Gold Coast 2018 editions, there has never been a basketball 3x3 tournament. That will change at Birmingham 2022.

Australia has won all four gold medals to date in traditional basketball, and will be favourites for the podium alongside Canada, England, Nigeria and New Zealand.

The basketball 3x3 format sees teams of three play on a court with a single hoop, with four competitions being held for men, women, men’s wheelchair and women’s wheelchair.

Birmingham has a track record of hosting wheelchair basketball events as the host city for the Under-23 Men’s World Championships in 2005 and the World Championships for Men and Women in 2010.

No wheelchair basketball tournament has been played at the Commonwealth Games before.

• Debut – 1930
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 21
• Birmingham 2022 events – 59
• Most gold medals – Australia (196)

Athletics is one of the Commonwealth Games’ core sports and has featured since the first edition of the Games in 1930 in Hamilton. 

Major athletics nations such as Jamaica and Kenya are part of the Commonwealth, meaning some of the sport’s top stars have competed at the Commonwealth Games.

This includes Jamaican sprint icon Usain Bolt and Kenya’s marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge.

Para athletics is an important part of the programme, with 13 medal events planned for Birmingham.

New events include the T33/34 100 metres for women, an event which home nation favourites, Hannah Cockcroft and Kare Adenegan, will be hoping to take part in.

• Debut – 1966
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 14
• Birmingham 2022 events – 6
• Most gold medals – England (37)

Badminton is one of the core sports of the Commonwealth Games and has emerged as a favourite for Asian nations.

Despite early dominance from England, who still lead the overall medals table, Malaysia and India are the strongest Commonwealth nations in the sport today.

One of Malaysia’s greats is Lee Chong Wei, who won three Commonwealth Games men’s singles titles. India’s Saina Nehwal has won two gold medals in the women’s singles.

Mixed team events were held in the sport for the first time at the Edmonton 1978 Games.

• Debut – 2018
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 1
• Birmingham 2022 events – 2
• Most gold medals – Australia and Canada (1)

Beach volleyball is set to return as an optional sport at Birmingham 2022 after making its debut at Gold Coast 2018. 

Competition will begin with a round-robin before knockout rounds, with events for both men and women.

Australia won the men’s title in Gold Coast with Canada claiming the women’s prize. Both countries also took home silver after losing in the respective finals. 

Pacific island nation Vanuatu won a historic bronze medal in the women’s competition.

• Debut – 1930
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 21
• Birmingham 2022 events – 16
• Most gold medals – England (60)

Boxing is a core sport at the Commonwealth Games and has been part of the event since its inception in 1930. 

Although England is the clear leader in the all-time medal table, nations from Africa, Asia and the Americas all have a rich history in the sport.

Perhaps the greatest name to grace the Commonwealth Games in boxing is Lennox Lewis, who won super heavyweight gold at Edinburgh 1986 for Canada before winning three world heavyweight titles for Britain during his professional career.

Women’s boxing was added to the programme at Glasgow 2014, with winners including England’s Nicola Adams.

• Debut – 1998
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 1
• Birmingham 2022 events – 1 
• Most gold medals – South Africa (1)

Birmingham will make history by hosting the first ever women's cricket tournament at the Commonwealth Games, with eight teams due to compete in a Twenty20 event.

Cricket was part of the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1998, where South Africa won the only gold medal to date in a men’s competition. 

Twenty20 cricket allows teams only one innings and a maximum of 20 overs, and is the fastest version of the sport.

• Debut - 1938
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 19
• Birmingham 2022 events – 4
• Most gold medals – Australia (21)

The discipline of road cycling is a core sport at the Commonwealth Games and made its debut in 1938.

Some of the biggest names in road cycling have achieved success at the Commonwealth Games, including Welsh rider Geraint Thomas who won the men’s road race at Glasgow 2014, four years before winning the 2018 Tour de France.

The women’s road race was introduced at the Auckland 1990 Games.

• Debut – 2002
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 4
• Birmingham 2022 events – 2
• Most gold medals – Canada (4)

Men’s and women’s cross-country events in mountain bike have featured at four Commonwealth Games and will return again for Birmingham 2022.

Mountain biking made its debut at Manchester 2002 and has been part of the Commonwealth Games programme at every Games except Delhi 2010 since.

Canada is particularly strong in the sport, winning three of the four women’s cross-country gold medals.

• Debut – 1934
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 20
• Birmingham 2022 events – 20
• Most gold medals – Australia (89)

Track cycling is an optional sport at the Games and debuted at London 1934. Women’s track cycling was later added at Auckland 1990.

Some of the best cyclists in the world have claimed gold at the Commonwealth Games over the years, including Australians Anna Meares and Stephanie Morton, England’s Laura Kenny and Scotland’s Sir Chris Hoy.

Para track cycling was first introduced at Glasgow 2014, and features races for visually-impaired athletes in the men’s and women’s tandem.

• Debut – 1930
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 21
• Birmingham 2022 events – 12
• Most gold medals – Canada (38)

Diving has been part of the Commonwealth Games since the first edition in 1930 in Hamilton. It is an optional sport - meaning it is not guaranteed a place on the programme.

Canada, England and Australia have been the most successful countries, with the three nations winning 106 of the available 116 gold medals to date.

Disciplines include springboard, platform and synchronised diving. 

For the first time at a Commonwealth Games, mixed diving events have been included on the programme.

• Debut – 1990
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 7
• Birmingham 2022 events – 6
• Most gold medals – Canada (22)

Solely a women’s discipline, rhythmic gymnastics has been part of every Commonwealth Games in some form since 1990, with the exception of Manchester 2002.

An optional sport, it again returns to the Commonwealth Games programme for Birmingham 2022. 

Historically Canada has been the strongest nation but at Gold Coast 2018 six medals were won by Cypriot Diamonto Evripid, and Koi Sie Yan and Amy Kwan from Malaysia won seven medals between them.

• Debut – 1978
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 9
• Birmingham 2022 events – 14
• Most gold medals – Australia (39) 

Artistic gymnastics is a core sport at the Commonwealth Games, having debuted at Edmonton 1978. It did not make its return until Auckland 1990 but has been part of the programme ever since.
Australia has the most gold medals with 39, followed by England on 34 after a strong performance at Gold Coast 2018. Canada has won 31 gold medals and has also been historically successful in the sport.

Outside of those three countries, only Scotland and Cyprus have made the top three in the medal table at an individual Games, with the former winning two gold medals thanks to Marios Georgiou.

• Debut – 1998
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 6
• Birmingham 2022 events – 2 
• Most gold medals – Australia (10)

Despite its long history in the Commonwealth nations, hockey was only introduced as a Commonwealth Games sport at Kuala Lumpur 1998. It has been present ever since and is now a core sport.

Australia have won 10 of the 12 gold medals so far, including all six of the men’s titles. New Zealand and India won women’s titles at Gold Coast 2018 and Manchester 2002, respectively - the only occasions where Australia were denied.

Asian nations Pakistan and Malaysia have also picked up silver and bronze medals, while England has won nine medals in total.

• Debut – 1990
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 3
• Birmingham 2022 events – 14
• Most gold medals – England (28)

Despite its origin as a Japanese martial art, judo has become popular in the Commonwealth and particularly in the United Kingdom. England and Scotland are first and second, respectively, on the all-time medal table.

Birmingham 2022 will be the third Commonwealth Games in the UK that judo has been a part of, following Manchester 2002 and Glasgow 2014. It only appeared outside of the UK when it debuted at the Auckland 1990 Games. 

Away from the larger nations, Fiji claimed one of its four Commonwealth Games gold medals in the sport at Manchester 2002. Other smaller countries such as Malta, Mauritius and Cyprus have all stood on the podium at the Games as well.

• Debut – 1930
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 20
• Birmingham 2022 events – 11
• Most gold medals – Scotland and England (20)

A core sport, lawn bowls has been present at every Commonwealth Games since the event’s debut in 1930 with the exception of Kingston 1966. This was due to Jamaica not having sufficient lawn bowls greens.

Scotland currently sits ahead of England in the all-time medal table as they have one more silver medal. 

In recent years, lawn bowls has introduced more Para sports events, with mixed pairs and open triples events staged in Gold Coast in 2018. 

Lawn bowls has singles, doubles, triples and fours competitions for men and women.

The Para lawn bowls competition for Birmingham 2022 includes men's and women's pairs for B6 to B8 and a mixed pairs competition for B2 and B3 competitors.

• Debut – 1998
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 6
• Birmingham 2022 events – 1 
• Most gold medals – Australia (3)

Netball is a women’s only event and a core sport at the Commonwealth Games. It made its debut in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

Australia has won three of the six tournaments to date, with New Zealand winning two and England winning their first title at Gold Coast 2018. 

Australia is still the only nation to make every Commonwealth Games final in the sport, while Jamaica has won the bronze medal on three occasions.

• Debut – 2002
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 5
• Birmingham 2022 events – 4
• Most gold medals – Nigeria (12)

Part of the Commonwealth Games as a core Para sport, Para powerlifting has been included on the programme since Manchester 2002. Women’s Para powerlifting was introduced at Delhi 2010.

A formula is used in Commonwealth Games competition to determine an athlete’s score based on their classification.

To date, Nigeria has won all 12 gold medals available in Para powerlifting, contributing significantly to the nation’s overall Commonwealth Games medal tally.

• Debut – 1998
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 6
• Birmingham 2022 events – 2
• Most gold medals – New Zealand (6)

Rugby sevens has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 1998, with all but one gold medal going the way of New Zealand, a titan in rugby union. 

Only South Africa has defeated New Zealand in rugby sevens at the Games, in the Glasgow 2014 men’s final. 

Women’s rugby sevens was introduced at Gold Coast 2018, where New Zealand defeated host nation Australia in the final.

• Debut – 1998
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 6
• Birmingham 2022 events – 5
• Most gold medals – Australia (11)

Australia and England are the standout nations in squash, having won two thirds of the gold medals since the sport was introduced at Kuala Lumpur 1998. 

The disciplines in squash are men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles. 

Squash is a core sport for the Commonwealth Games.

Joelle King has been part of three of New Zealand’s five gold medals, and helped her country finish top of the sport’s medal table at Gold Coast 2018.

• Debut – 1930 
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 21
• Birmingham 2022 events – 54
• Most gold medals – Australia (305)

Swimming is one of the Commonwealth Games’ core sports and has been dominated by Australia since its introduction at Hamilton 1930. 

Since Brisbane 1982, Australia, boosted by stars such as Ian Thorpe, have topped the medal table in swimming at every Games.

Para swimming is also part of the programme with 14 medal events planned for Birmingham 2022.

• Debut – 2002
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 5
• Birmingham 2022 events – 11
• Most gold medals – Singapore (21)

A popular sport in Asia, table tennis at the Commonwealth Games is currently dominated by Singapore which has won 50 medals in total. 

Table tennis was created in upper-class Victorian England and further developed by British military officers in India in the 1860s and 1870s. It was initially called ping pong before the name table tennis was adopted in 1921.

Table tennis has competitions for men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Games. There are also men’s and women’s team competitions and there will be four Para table tennis events in Birmingham.

Although present consistently since 2002, table tennis is an optional sport.

• Debut – 2002
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 4
• Birmingham 2022 events – 5
• Most gold medals – England (5)

Debuting at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games, triathlon is now one of the core sports for the event.

It is popular in the British nations and in Canada, Oceania and South Africa. Bermuda won their first Commonwealth Games gold medal in nearly 30 years at Gold Coast 2018 in triathlon, thanks to women’s winner Flora Duffy.

Triathlon features swimming, cycling and running. Alongside the men’s and women’s races there is a mixed relay and two Para triathlon competitions.

At Birmingham 2022 the Para events are for PTVI athletes, a classification for athletes with a visual impairment.

• Debut – 1950
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 18
• Birmingham 2022 events – 16
• Most gold medals – Australia (59)

Weightlifting has been part of the Commonwealth Games since the Auckland 1950 edition.

Although in the past medals were awarded for both the snatch and clean and jerk disciplines as well as the overall winner, medals are now only awarded to the overall top three.

There is a total of eight men’s and eight women’s events in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games and it is a core sport. Men’s weight categories start at 55 kilograms and end with the over-109kg. Women’s weight categories start at 49kg, going up to over-87kg.

Traditional Games powerhouses Australia, India, England and Canada sit towards the top of the all-time medal table, however, other less-established nations have strong medal hauls too. 

African nations Nigeria and Cameroon have 20 and 10 gold medals respectively and small Pacific nation Nauru has also won 10 titles.

• Debut – 1930
• Commonwealth Games appearances – 18
• Birmingham 2022 events – 12
• Most gold medals – Canada (66)

There are many styles of wrestling such as folkstyle, freestyle, Greco-Roman, catch, submission, sambo and more but at the Commonwealth Games it is freestyle wrestling that is recognised as a core sport and included on the sports programme. 

The USA is a world leader in wrestling, but Commonwealth countries such as Canada, India and Pakistan are all in the top five of the world rankings and this means we can look forward to a top-class wrestling competition at Birmingham 2022. 

These three nations have won 120 of the 175 gold medals at the Commonwealth Games to date.