Sport4 min(s) read
Published 14:27 03 Aug 2026 GMT
A teenage athlete who has survived cancer was denied her shot at a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games because of a wardrobe malfunction.
OK, so Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake at the Super Bowl this ain’t, but for Sienna Newton it is clearly a source of some embarrassment and annoyance.
Newton, a para athlete from Australia, was competing for her nation at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - a huge sporting event for those countries who were formerly part of the British Empire.
Sure, it’s not quite the Olympics, but it’s a well-supported competition that features some of the top athletic nations on the planet.
It also means everything to those who take part, and Newton is no exception.
She’s had it tough on her way to the event, too - Newton survived brain cancer and now competes in the T38 long jump event.
Or at least, she did until she was unable to complete her last jump, which could have thrust her into the medal mix.
Before starting her attempt, Newton had some trouble getting out of her tracksuit, to the point where her pants got stuck on the spikes of her cleats.
As coaches and competitors ran in to help her out, she started her run up.
However, she couldn’t get her jump done in time to beat the clock, meaning that she was forced to run it out across the sand rather than jumping.
So, she was unable to make her bid for the podium and had to settle for fifth place.
That’s still a personal best, and time is on her side, so she’ll hopefully be back to challenge again.
It's not even the only Aussie wardrobe malfunction that has happened at these games, either - the netball team have had their own share of issues.
On social media after the fact, Newton said: “Definitely not how I imagined my Commonwealth Games debut would go,
“And yes, if you tuned in, you would’ve seen the chaos that was my last jump. Ironically, I think that was the most airtime the T38 long jump got all day.”
Appealing to her sponsors, she added: “Yep, it was my pants. They’re now officially ripped, so if @valoursport has a spare pair lying around, let me know.
“On the bright side, I jumped a new PB of 4.70m on my fifth attempt. Unfortunately, I never got to take a proper sixth jump. “Between the countdown clock and trying to wrestle off a pair of pants with a left hand that I can’t feel, it wasn’t exactly an easy task.”
In commentary, Newton was criticized by para-athlete Danny Crates, who said that there was ‘naivety’ on show.
He said: “They know their jump is coming. They would be expected to be stripped down, waiting on the back of the runway, ready to go. So she’ll be frustrated with herself there.”
On that, Newton added: “And just to clear up the commentary at the end of the video about me needing to be ready to jump, I had actually started trying to get the pants off two jumps earlier,
“It just didn’t quite go to plan. And looking back at the video, I don’t even think I went off my run-up mark.
“As it turns out, according to the rule book, I should have been allowed another jump under protest. So who knows what that last jump could have been.
“A huge shoutout to my fellow competitors for jumping in and helping me get the pants off. Thank you as well to my coach and my family. I wouldn’t be here without your support.
“A PB, a pair of ripped pants, and a story I’ll never live down. That’s sport.”
At least she’s taking it with a good sense of humor.
