76-year-old Louise Hoskins wins Commonwealth Games para bowls gold
Louise Hoskins, aged 76, has become the oldest gold medallist in Commonwealth Games history after she and Serena Bonnell won the women’s para bowls pairs title. The achievement took place at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where Hoskins was competing as the oldest athlete on the Australian team.
Hoskins and Bonnell combined to claim the women’s para bowls pairs crown for Australia, a result that set a new age record for gold medallists at the Games. Her place in history was underscored by her background: Hoskins was born during the 1950 Auckland Games and arrived in Glasgow as the oldest competitor at the 2026 Games. “It is incredible. I’m still pinching myself,” said 76-year-old Hoskins, who was born during the 1950 Auckland Games and is the oldest competitor at the 2026 Games in Glasgow. “I never thought I’d ever get [a gold medal] at my age. Get out there and have a go, and never give up.”
The victory adds a remarkable chapter to Hoskins’s sporting record and delivers a gold for Australia in a para-sport discipline. Partners in pairs play must work in close coordination, and Bonnell’s role alongside Hoskins helped secure the top podium position. The win will be entered in the official Commonwealth Games results as a landmark achievement by an athlete in her mid-seventies.
Hoskins’s lifespan bridging generations of Games competition — born during the 1950 Auckland Games and medalling at Glasgow 2026 — drew attention to the longevity possible in lawn bowls and para bowls. Her status as the oldest competitor at these Games made the gold medal all the more notable for statisticians and fans of Commonwealth Games history. The achievement also underlines the presence and importance of para-sport events within the wider Games programme.
Team Australia celebrated the pair’s success, which contributes to the nation’s overall medal haul at Glasgow 2026. The women’s para bowls pairs event awarded Hoskins and Bonnell the highest honour in their discipline, and the result will be recorded in official summaries and national tallies. While the match details are part of the event record, the headline is Hoskins’s unprecedented place in Commonwealth Games history.
Hoskins’s words after the final captured the personal significance of the moment and offered an encouragement to others to participate regardless of age. Her comment — “Get out there and have a go, and never give up.” — serves as a succinct statement of motivation attached to a record-breaking sporting accomplishment. The gold medal at Glasgow 2026 secures her name in the Games’ long history and highlights the continuing opportunities in para-sport.
