[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-scotland-alex-marshall-commonwealth-games-flagbearer":82,"category-counts-nav":97,"related-scotland-alex-marshall-commonwealth-games-flagbearer":107},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":95,"_path":96},"Lawn bowls legend Alex Marshall to carry Scotland's flag at Commonwealth Games","scotland-alex-marshall-commonwealth-games-flagbearer","long-reads","Long Reads: Football","Marcus Wright","Five-time Commonwealth gold medallist Alex Marshall named Scotland's flagbearer for Thursday's opening ceremony.","2026-07-22 18:14:53","1 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fscotland-alex-marshall-commonwealth-games-flagbearer.webp",[93,94],"Commonwealth Games","Scotland","## Marshall and Adlington to carry Scotland's flag into Thursday's opening ceremony\n\n**Alex Marshall** and **Sarah Adlington** will jointly lead the Scottish delegation into the opening ceremony as flagbearers on Thursday, placing lawn bowls and judo at the front of the country's campaign. Marshall holds five Commonwealth gold medals, the most by any lawn bowls player in history. Adlington, a judoka, joins him in recognition of two athletes from sports that sit outside the mainstream spotlight.\n\nMarshall's selection rewards a career built on precision and timing. A single bowl landing inches from the jack can swing a match, and Marshall built his reputation on making those deliveries under pressure, reading conditions that shift with weather, surface, and opponent. He won his first Commonwealth gold in Manchester 2002, then added pairs at Melbourne 2006, triples at Delhi 2010, and two more at Glasgow 2014. Scotland, England, and Australia regularly take the majority of medals in the sport at these Games.\n\nCarrying the flag alongside Adlington adds another line to a career already stocked with Commonwealth milestones, and puts two familiar faces at the head of a delegation whose contributions extend well beyond the sports that dominate headlines.\n\n> *Updated: 2026-07-22 - Sarah Adlington added as joint flagbearer alongside Alex Marshall*","\u002Farticles\u002Fscotland-alex-marshall-commonwealth-games-flagbearer",[98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,85,106],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","tennis",[108,122,133],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":112,"badgeType":113,"author":114,"authorRole":115,"authorInitials":116,"date":117,"readTime":118,"image":119,"imageAlt":111,"tags":120,"excerpt":121},"heyward-double-achilles-comeback-commonwealth-games-mile","\u002Farticles\u002Fheyward-double-achilles-comeback-commonwealth-games-mile","Double Achilles Surgery Could Not End Heyward's Commonwealth Dream","Feature","category","Elena Rossi","SportPulse Contributor","ER","2026-07-19 09:20:45","6 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fheyward-double-achilles-comeback-commonwealth-games-mile.webp","Commonwealth Games, Athletics, Track and Field","Jake Heyward survived bilateral Achilles tendon surgery to race the Commonwealth Games mile, redefining endurance sport's recovery timeline.",{"id":123,"stem":123,"path":124,"title":125,"category":85,"badge":112,"badgeType":113,"author":126,"authorRole":127,"authorInitials":128,"date":129,"readTime":118,"image":130,"imageAlt":125,"tags":131,"excerpt":132},"joe-root-interim-england-test-captain-stokes-injury","\u002Farticles\u002Fjoe-root-interim-england-test-captain-stokes-injury","England's Emergency Recall: Why Root Is the Only Logical Choice","James Chen","Senior Football Analyst","JC","2026-07-02 03:32:27","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F4515\u002Flive\u002F3ebf2710-64e1-11f1-b1db-af71d47507d6.jpg","Test Cricket, England Cricket, Ashes","With Ben Stokes sidelined, England turn back to their most experienced hand in Joe Root as interim Test captain.",{"id":134,"stem":134,"path":135,"title":136,"category":85,"badge":15,"badgeType":113,"author":126,"authorRole":127,"authorInitials":128,"date":137,"readTime":138,"image":139,"imageAlt":136,"tags":140,"excerpt":141},"english-failed-world-conquests-and-the-golf-redemption-arc","\u002Farticles\u002Fenglish-failed-world-conquests-and-the-golf-redemption-arc","England's Failed World Conquests and the Golf Redemption Arc","2026-07-16 21:00:42","7 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fenglish-failed-world-conquests-and-the-golf-redemption-arc.webp","World Cup, The Open, Golf","As England's World Cup dreams die again, British golfers offer a different kind of sporting salvation at The Open."]