Sinead Chambers won’t be on the podium in Glasgow. She is, however, as crucial a part of Team NI at the Commonwealth Games as anyone else.
Competing with some of the best sporting talent around isn’t an unknown territory for her though.
Chambers also has a unique story to tell ahead of her fifth successive Games. After being past of the Northern Ireland badminton team in 2010 (Delhi), 2014 (Glasgow) and 2018 (Gold Coast) the Sports Institute physio will return to Glasgow 12 years on in her second Games as a practitioner working with the swimming team.
An eight-times Irish National champion, Chambers also has the four Team NI gymnasts as part of her day-to-day job and played a big part in helping Olympic gold medallist Rhys McClenaghan return to competition earlier this year.
McClenaghan underwent successful surgery on a shoulder injury in July 2025, forcing him to miss the 2025 World Championship before being back on the pommel horse in March 2026 at a World Cup event in Azerbaijan.
“I have been working with Sinead for a number of years now and she supplies us with the expertise on how to keep our body healthy and happy going into competitions,” said the three-time European and two-time World.
“The year after the Olympics I had shoulder surgery and have been rehabbing that ever since. Sinead played a big role in the rehab of that injury and got me back to a healthy place heading into the Commonwealth Games where we don’t have pain in the shoulder any more.”
