2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES:
An Australian athlete hoping to compete at the 2026 Commonwealth Games has clarified calls for compensation following the Victorian Government’s decision to pull out of hosting the event.
Brisbane-based would-be competitor, Jim Nastics, said his comments about possible compensation had been misconstrued.
Mr Nastics said through his training program he had been working towards being picked for Australia’s table tennis team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games and hopefully for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“When I spoke to the media after the Victorian Premier’s announcement on Tuesday I never meant to suggest I was seeking financial compensation,” he said. “My remarks had nothing to do with money.
“But as any Australian who has competed at any Olympic Games will tell you, part of their preparation is to also compete at the preceding Commonwealth Games where they invariably win a medal – at minimum a bronze but often also a silver or gold.
“The win at a Commonwealth Games has always been tangible compensation for being embarrassingly thrashed and finishing somewhere near last or at best in the middle of the field at the Olympics two years later.
“My remarks were designed to ensure that we still have a 2026 Commonwealth Games somewhere in the world so Australian competitors can win at least some medals before missing out completely at the 2028 Olympics,” Mr Nastics said.
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Despite announcing that it was withdrawing as 2026 Commonwealth Games host, the Victorian Government has been required to undertake an expensive rebranding exercise until a new host is decided.
“The Commonwealth Games Federation has told us in no uncertain terms that we are still officially the 2026 host until all the extensive paperwork has been completed to give effect to our withdrawal,” a spokesperson for the Victorian Government said.
“So we are required to redesign a lot of material that was previously used to promote the 2026 event.
“That includes our central Commonwealth Games logo (above) which we have now replaced with a new one better reflecting our current status.” (main picture)
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The London-based Commonwealth Games Federation says it is urgently contacting other cities around the world in its efforts to find a replacement host for the 2026 games.
“We’ve been urgently looking for a more politically stable nation, state, or city that is in better financial and logistical shape than Victoria and Melbourne and has better infrastructure,” a Federation spokesperson said.
“Since the Victorian Premier’s announcement we’ve been working flat out on drafting a shortlist and we’ve been able to narrow the choice down to one possible new host.
“We’ll be shooting off – sorry, I should say sending off – an urgent email to the Kyiv City Council later this morning offering Ukraine honorary membership of the Commonwealth in exchange for 2026 hosting duties,” the spokesperson said.
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