Team Kenya Athletes Share How ‘Harsh’ Glasgow Weather Has Affected Commonwealth Medal Hunt

Kenya has two days left to add onto their medal count at the 2026 Commonwealth Games but most of the athletes are being hampered by the weather conditions in Glasgow.

After nine days of competition, Kenya has managed eight medals, two gold, four silver and a pair of bronze. With two days to go, it is a tough race to match or beat the 21 that Team Kenya managed in Birmingham four years ago.

In 2022, Kenya managed six gold, five silver and 10 bronze but already, the country has not been able to defend two of those titles, the men’s 100m and women’s 800m.

Ferdinand Omanyala was not able to defend his 100m crown after missing a ticket to the final while Lilian Odira needed a great finishing kick to nick silver in the 800m as the title that was won by Mary Moraa in 2022 was claimed by England’s Georgia Hunter Bell this time.

However, most of the athletes feel the weather in Glasgow has worked against them. Omanyala was the first to blame bad weather, having struggled after running his semi-final in the rains to finish a disappointing sixth.

“That was a bad time. I have never been able to train in the rain and I don’t like the rain so that got into my head,” Omanyala told the media after his disappointing race. “The warm up was great and coming out here, and running that time is a bit of a disappointment.”

While it might have looked like an excuse at the time, other athletes have come out to express their frustration with the changing weather patterns in the Scottish city, admitting it is affecting them mentally.

"It's very cold, but we just have to persevere. You have to adapt to any weather because sometimes you go somewhere and it rains, and you still have to run in that rain,” defending men’s 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal said after making it into the final.

Kinyamal is one of Kenya’s gold medal prospects at the Commonwealth Games and will hope that the weather is kind to him during his final on Saturday night.

Odira was more candid about the situation on the ground, saying the athletes were training in the sun in Kenya knowing well that they would face the same conditions in Glasgow given it is summer only to be met with rain, cold and wind.

“The weather here did not favour the Kenyans. Generally, the East Africans. It is windy, cold, and at times it is raining so we just have to fight,” Odira told the media after her race on Friday.

“When we were training at Nyayo Stadium, it was always sunny and we were told over here [Glasgow], it is summer. But coming here, everything suddenly changed.

“We trained at home in the sun knowing that it is summer here but coming here, it is raining, windy, and even when the sun is there, the wind is pushing you backwards. As an athlete, once the mind has been tortured, it is kind of tough,” the world 800m champion further stated.

Temperatures in Glasgow have been averaging a high of 19°C and a low of 11°C this week with light rains and cloudy conditions and there will be no respite on Saturday as the forecast indicates 18°C with light rains and a moderate breeze.