Mark Swan claims first Commonwealth Games gold in para powerlifting

Mark Swan of England claimed the first gold medal of the Commonwealth Games after one of the closest finishes imaginable in the men’s lightweight para powerlifting competition.

The 25-year-old lifted 222kg – more than three times his body weight and roughly the equivalent of bench pressing a grand piano – to finish level with Nigeria’s Roland Ezuruike, 50, on 153.9 points after the second round of lifts.

With both athletes failing on their final attempts, Swan was awarded gold after his score proved superior to Ezuruike’s to the second decimal place. Over an hour after the competition had ended, the Englishman admitted he still did not know exactly what separated them.

“I actually thought I got third so I didn’t realise I won,” he said. “I was in the backrooms. I came back off the third lift and I actually thought I got bronze. My coach said: ‘Good job on gold’ and I was like: ‘Huh?’ It didn’t make sense and they just kept telling me ‘Mark, you’ve won.’ I thought they were winding me up. It still hasn’t sunk in.”

The two-time Paralympic champion and defending Commonwealth champion Bonnie Bunyau Gustin of Malaysia, the world record-holder in the under-72kg category, took bronze after falling just 0.4 points behind the leading pair.

Swan, who won Commonwealth silver in Birmingham four years ago, also attempted a world record-equalling lift of 232kg, which appeared close but was ruled out after a challenge, sparking confusion before officials confirmed he had secured the opening gold medal of the Games.

“It was absolutely incredible,” Swan said. “I celebrated [the world record] because I was happy I actually lifted it. That in itself is 12kg more than I ever touched. I think it was [ruled out because of] a press sequence. I might have locked out a bit but I don’t know, I haven’t looked back on it. I’ve won so I am not really bothered about that.

“This is just the start. I’ve been training my heart out and doing everything I possibly can. No matter the result today, I’d have left happy because I know there was nothing else I could have done. My ambition is to become a Paralympic gold medallist and a world record-holder, and go from there.”

The victory was particularly satisfying given the calibre of the field. Gustin has dominated the lightweight division for much of the decade, winning two Paralympic titles and arriving in Glasgow as defending Commonwealth champion, while Ezuruike is a Rio 2016 Paralympic champion and Commonwealth gold medallist. “They pushed me lots,” Swan said. “They pushed me a lot more than I expected them to.”

Swan also recognised the significance of delivering England’s first title of the Games.

“Being the first gold medal for Team England is massive. It’s a really big achievement. Hopefully this brings everybody on now from Team England and they’re pushing on to do the same. It’s fantastic to lay down a marker for England.”

One of the loudest supporters inside the SEC Armadillo was fellow England para powerlifter Liam McGarry, who ruled himself out of the Games after battling sepsis earlier this year. Swan called him a “really good friend” and said: “I hear him everywhere; he’s got a big mouth. He certainly makes himself present, no matter where he is. I’m over the moon [he was here] and this was for him too.”

There was also home nation interest through Scotland’s Finlay Davidson, whose Commonwealth debut ended with an impressive fifth-place finish despite suffering a trap strain in training just a week before the Games. He could not resist a joke about Swan winning the first gold of the Games on Scottish soil. “He is my teammate outside the Commies so I am going to be proud of him … but he is English,” he joked.

The 21-year-old Davidson, competing in Scotland for the first time after taking up para powerlifting in 2022, outperformed his Commonwealth ranking by two places with successful lifts of 156kg, 161kg and 166kg. “Unreal,” he said of the experience. “I would have liked to come out with a medal but we’ll take what we get. Fifth was better than I thought.”