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Rose Davies completes historic Commonwealth distance double

Published on July 31, 2026 696 views

Australia's Rose Davies won the women's 5,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Thursday, adding the title to her 10,000m gold and becoming the first woman to complete that distance double at the Games. Australian teammate Jessica Hull took silver and Scotland's Megan Keith earned bronze at Scotstoun Stadium, according to the competition results and contemporary reports.

The victory came three days after Davies secured Australia's first athletics gold of Glasgow 2026 in the 10,000m. In that race, the 26-year-old waited until the closing stages before moving clear of Kenya's Diana Wanza, winning in 31 minutes 39.32 seconds. ABC News and The Guardian reported that the result also made her the first Australian woman to win the Commonwealth 10,000m title.

Davies again faced a strong field in the 5,000m, including Hull, an Olympic medallist and one of Australia's leading middle-distance runners, as well as home contender Keith. Her second victory converted a demanding two-race programme into an unprecedented Commonwealth Games achievement, while Australia's first two places demonstrated the country's depth in women's distance running.

World Athletics lists Davies as Australia's national record holder in both events, with personal bests of 14:31.45 for 5,000m and 30:34.11 for 10,000m. The governing body's profile ranked her 15th in the women's 5,000m before the Games. Her Glasgow performance also marked a sharp improvement from Birmingham in 2022, where she finished 17th in the Commonwealth 5,000m in 15:41.23.

The double carries particular significance because championship distance races require athletes to manage recovery, tactics and repeated changes of pace over several days. Davies won both finals through controlled racing and strong finishes rather than chasing record times, an approach suited to medals and made more difficult by the quality of the Australian, Kenyan and British opposition.

The result adds another major honour to Davies's career and gives Australia a prominent athletics milestone during the Glasgow Games. Competition continues through the closing weekend, but her two gold medals are already assured a place in Commonwealth Games history; attention will now turn to how the breakthrough shapes her preparations for future global championships.

Sources: Glasgow 2026, World Athletics, Australian Athletics, ABC News, The Guardian

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