Glasgow 2026 | Women’s all-around
Crystelle Lake and Ellee Cheetham conclude their Commonwealth Games with improved all-around finishes from qualifications yesterday.
Yesterday Team Scotland’s women’s artistic gymnasts finished sixth in the team finals. With Crystelle Lake and Ellee Cheetham progressing to the individual all-around final in thirteenth and nineteenth place. They competed today in the same pool as gymnasts from the Republic of South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand. Additionally, the Scots followed the same rotation again; starting bars, beam, floor and finishing with vault.
Setting the pace
Crystelle chalked up second in the line up as they started the final on the uneven bars. She sufferered errors on the piece the day before but more than overcame them today. Keeping the flow going with minimal deductions for the judges to take – including a slight step on landing. Instantly after signalling to the judges she was done, Crystelle embraced personal coach Brett delighted with her score. And rightly so, she scored a personal best of 13.25.
Ellee followed suit in going clean, after also being impacted by a similar error in pace yesterday. A step forward on landing but head held high. Safely through the first of four routines she’d compete that evening, scoring 11.700.
Leap of faith
Over to beam Crystelle remained on the apparatus with minimal hesitations in balance. Performing a secure flic to flic layout. Followed later by a free front walkover to split jump, straddle jump combination for those tenth of a mark bonuses. While waiting on Crystelle’s score, Ruby Evans from Wales went big on bars, finishing with a look of relief post routine as she exited the podium.
Looking pleased down the camera for the big screen in The Arena and fans at home, the score of 12.350 was announced for the Scot on beam. A flic to candle stick hold mounted Ellee onto the beam, a skill valued as a C giving 0.3 to her difficulty score. Standing up to save a fall from her double wolf spin caught her out again at the Games, but she remained on the apparatus. Keeping her chest down as she landed her the tricky combination of flic, flic, flic layout, she pulled herself off to the side. Getting straight back up to finish the remaining skills completing a cartwheel, one and a half straight twist off.
The halfway point
After two rotations the top rankings stood at:
- CAN | Lia-Monica Fontaine – 27.400
- CAN | Ellie Black – 27.100
- WAL | Ruby Evans – 26.950
- WAL | Emily Roper – 26.600
- ENG | Shantae-Eve Amankwaah – 26.300
- AUS | Georgia Godwin -25.750
- SCO | Crystelle Lake – 25.600
- MAS | Kang Xian Yeap – 24.900
With Ellee Cheetham in sixteenth with 22.400. Up third, and one of the fan favourite apparatus in the women’s competition – floor. Ellee warmed up in the first half of gymnasts, putting her hands up to the judges fourth in the start list. Safely round in the triple wolf spin and up into choreography with the crowd clapping to the music’s beat. Her first tumbling pass, a double back somersault with a full twist, overpowered her out of bounds and reaching to the floor taking a fall. Picking herself back up and continuing cleanly with the rest of the routine and waving to the home crowd once done.
An uncharacteristic error on a pass, straight front somersault directly into a straight front double twist, into the same corner also took Crystelle down. Continuing the routine picking up some other minor errors and taking a moment seated on the edge of the podium when finished to reflect, scoring 10.700.
Wrapping it up
Going into the fourth and final rotation, the top four gymnasts battling for the podium were Ellie Black (CAN), Breanna Scott (AUS), Lia-Monica Fontaine (CAN) and Emily Roper (WAL).
Ellee eagerly waited by the steps up to the podium as Malta’s Philippa Busuttil went ahead of her, performing a Yurchenko straight back somersault. While awaiting her score, over on the floor Shantae-Eve Amankwaah from England caught the crowds attention with her unique and powerful spin into a double stag jump. The screen finally changes from amber waiting signal to green for go at vault. Completing a Yurchenko with a full twisting straight – Ellee ends her debut Commonwealth Games grinning ear to ear.
Embracing the team at the side with hugs all around before the score of 13.050 comes in. Giving the camera a smile and heart with her hands she finished with a rounded 46.000 in this all-around final. Only eight gymnasts remained to compete; four on vault and four on floor with Olympians Ellie Black, Ruby Evans and Georgia Godwin in the mix. Our focus turned to floor as Canadian Lia-Monica Fontaine performs a double twisting, double back somersault – the only women to compete that skill at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Georgia Godwin from Australia followed on floor linking her movement from the skills to the choreography perfectly in sync with the music beat.
It’s all eyes on Glasgow girl Crystelle in her final performance at her home city’s Games. The start value of 4.6 flashes onto the screen indicating she is going for the Yurchenko entry, one and a half twisting vault. The Games is the first competition she has competed the additional half twist and it paid off earning her 13.050 yesterday and upping to 13.100 today. Concluding her competition with 49.400 and three gymnasts remaining.
A historic Sunday
Ellie Black closes the competition with a dark and electric routine, showcasing power in every movement. The Aussie’s score appears followed by the all-around total with the number one beside her name. Another historic moment in The Arena today as she becomes the first gymnast to win two Commonwealth Games all-around titles. Eight years after her first one in Gold Coast 2018. An exciting day in artistic gymnastics news as this followed Team Scotland earning their first ever all-around champion in the form of men’s gymnast Reuben Ward earlier.
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games women’s all-around medallists:
- GOLD | CAN Ellie Black – 53.050
- SILVER | AUS Breanna Scott – 52.900
- BRONZE | CAN Lia-Monica Fontaine – 52.800
Scotland’s Crystelle Lake and Ellee Cheetham finished the individual all-around final in ninth (49.400) andseventeenth (46.000). Congratulations too them both on their performances, a tricky feat competing back-to-back days. Well done girls.
Next up
Monday 27 July | Apparatus finals day one: 1-5.30pm
- Men’s floor (Reuben), pommel horse (Reuben & Cameron) & rings
- Women’s vault and uneven bars
Tuesday 28 July | Apparatus finals day two: 1-5.30pm
- Men’s parallel bars (Reuben), high bar (Cameron) & vault
- Women’s balance beam & floor
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Photography credit: Ewan Bootman