Hinchliffe and Dobson Pull Out of England's Commonwealth Games Team
Sprinters Louie Hinchliffe and Charlie Dobson have withdrawn from England's athletics team for the Commonwealth Games, one day before the track and field competition begins in Glasgow on Monday. BBC Sport
No specific reason was given for either withdrawal, and the BBC report did not identify who first announced the decisions.
The two departures bring the total number of English athletes who have pulled out of the team to eleven. Nine had already gone before them, including heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, and Olympic 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith.
Both Hinchliffe and Dobson won bronze medals in relay events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Hinchliffe, a 100m specialist, was part of England's sprint squad for Glasgow. Dobson, a 400m runner, was not entered in the individual men's 400m but was named in the mixed 4x400m relay squad — a race that teams two men and two women across four 400m legs.
Dobson's absence leaves England's mixed relay squad at five athletes: Laviai Nielsen, Poppy Malik, Alicia Regis, Louise Evans, and Toby Harries. In the men's 4x100m relay, the squad consists of Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Romell Glave, Ebuka Nwokeji, and Elliot Jones.
Jones is now England's only remaining entrant in the men's 100m individual heats. He carries a personal best of 10.04 seconds into the competition.
The Commonwealth Games — a multi-sport event held every four years among nations of the former British Empire, now open to over 70 countries and territories — returns to Glasgow, which last hosted in 2014. The athletics programme opens on Monday and runs across the week.
What makes this wave of withdrawals striking is the sheer volume. Eleven athletes missing from a single team is not routine, and it strips the England squad of several of its most recognisable names. Some have cited the unusual scheduling: this Games falls outside the normal four-year cycle, landing in a year already crowded with World Championships and other major meets, which may have factored into individual decisions about workload and recovery.
For the athletes still on the start list, the stage is set regardless. Glasgow's Emirates Arena will host the indoor track, and the heats will begin with whoever is there — not with those who stayed home.
