If you're grumbling about the number of athletes who have opted out of or are still prevaricating about whether to compete in the Commonwealth Games, blame Usain Bolt.

A New Zealander is in line to win the first medal of the Commonwealth Games.

It won't be the shoulders of our Commonwealth Games athletes but their minds that struggle to carry the weight of a nation's expectations in Glasgow.

A devastated Katarina Johnson-Thompson was yesterday forced to pull out of the Commonwealth Games just two days before the start in order to avoid inflicting potentially long-term damage to her fledgling career.

With just two days to go until the XX Commonwealth Games open in Glasgow, Herald reporters David Leggat and Kris Shannon provide all the latest news from Scotland.

Qureshi Ayub Mohammed and Ali Shan Muzahir have become famous for something other than their curry: they are Pakistan's first Commonwealth Games lawn bowlers.

"People Make Glasgow", the marketing campaign proclaims, welcoming athletes, fans and officials to Scotland's largest city.

Glenn Snyders cut a distinctive figure with his California tan at the New Zealand flag raising ceremony in the Commonwealth Games athletes village yesterday.

Before the staid official ceremony on a grey Glasgow evening, the Kiwi Commonwealth Games team were welcomed to the athletes' village.

Those arriving for the first time in Glasgow yesterday would be thinking the stories they'd heard about the climate were bang on, writes David Leggat.

New Zealand's unbeaten record in sevens at the Commonwealth Games creates certain pressure but DJ Forbes believes it will be more benefit than burden.

One of the delights of the Commonwealth Games is the unveiling of names previously barely known outside their particular sport.

Peerless Kenyan runner David Rudisha is expecting further improvement when he rounds out his Commonwealth Games preparation in Monte Carlo today.

Aspiring runners have the chance to pit their skills against Commonwealth Games gold medallists in a virtual duel of speed.

I have dreamed of competing at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics since I was young, so to be named in the team was a dream come true.