Skip to content

Athlete witnessed knife incident during Commonwealth Games training

Paul O'HareBBC Scotland
Getty Images Man with bleached blonde hair and wraparound sunglasses running. He is wearing a bright yellow Australia vest.Getty Images
Olli Hoare competing for Australia during the 2024 Paris Olympics

An Australian athlete witnessed a knife incident while on a Commonwealth Games training run in Glasgow.

Olli Hoare was in Glasgow city centre on Saturday when he saw someone brandishing a weapon.

It was initially thought that he had witnessed the aftermath of the murder of Paul McMinigal, 44, on Burgher Street, in the east end of the city, on Friday.

But a review of the GPS data on his watch confirmed the incident happened the following day at a different location.

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Australian athletes have since been asked to train in small groups and not to run in the nation's distinctive green and yellow team uniform.

However BBC Scotland News has been told this advice is standard protocol at championships and not a Glasgow-specific request.

Despite the scare, it is understood the runaway medal table leaders have no safety concerns.

Police Scotland Selfie of a smiling man with short dark hairPolice Scotland
Paul McMinigal, 44, was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident

A Team Australia spokesman said: "We are working closely with Glasgow 2026 to ensure the safety of our athletes, coaches and officials, as well as their family and friends, at the Games."

"Our regular Games security briefings are keeping us comprehensively informed on potential risks across the city, and we're sharing applicable information with Team Members to ensure their awareness and safety."

Officials spoke to Hoare to check on his wellbeing and said there were no ongoing issues.

The middle-distance runner will line up in the mile event at Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday against a trio of Scottish medal hopes.

New world record holder Josh Kerr will start as favourite for gold but he will face competition from former 1500m world champion Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley, who has world and European indoor 1500m medals to his name.

Australian track sensation Cameron Myers - who ran the fastest 1500m by an under-21, in July - will also compete in the event.

This article was originally published saying Hoare had witnessed the aftermath of the murder of Paul McMinigal and has since been corrected as new information came to light.