How Canada's William Emard bounced back from 'unfair' equipment fail to land on podium at 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games
Published 28/07/2026 at 18:35 GMT+1
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William Emard of Canada was sent flying off the high bar in quite striking circumstances at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, following an equipment failure which meant he was allowed to re-do his routine.
Watch as Canada's Emard flies off high bar after 'unfair' equipment fail in Glasgow
Video credit: TNT Sports
There was an air of concern around Glasgow International Arena when Emard flew backwards off the bar during his routine, just about landing on the mat beneath the bar. But he was up to his feet quickly, dispelling any worries of an injury.
He did, though, immediately gesture towards his hand-guard, which had completely snapped, and caused his wild fall.
Soon after, Emard was seen running out of the arena to replace his malfunctioning equipment, and was afforded another opportunity to get himself on the scoreboard.
In the TNT Sports studio, three-time Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock explained the protocols around equipment failures.
"As long as you have the equipment to replace it, then you can have the opportunity," Whitlock said.
"The guard has completely snapped, so these are made of real leather, natural materials, so sometimes they can be a bit unpredictable.
"You can see there, the pull on the bar completely snapped right through and the hand comes completely off.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
"There’s zero chance you’d be able to hang on when something like that happens, so it’s almost very unfair if he doesn’t get the opportunity.
"So he ran out of the arena, went to his gym bag to get his spare pro guards. And get that other attempt."
Emard would return as the final man to take to the bar and shrugged off the disappointment of his initial attempt with an excellent routine which saw him take the bronze medal.
And Whitlock credited the manner in which the Canadian overcame the mental challenge of returning to the bar after his fall.
"It’s really hard mentally," Whitlock said. "It’s so hard to come back from that, refocus, new pair of guards, it’s a tough shift and a real psychological aspect to really go all out again and have another opportunity."
Emard's compatriot, Felix Dolci, continued his extraordinary Commonwealth Games with a fourth gold medal, chalking up a score of 14.233. Marios Georgiou of Cyprus took silver.
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Since Dolci fell foul of a horror pommel horse routine during the all-around, which saw him down in 17th before romping back to take silver in the event, he has been imperious in all disciplines.
And Whitlock said coming back from that initial disappointment at the start of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games will stand him in good stead for future competitions.
"He’s been a big player in this whole Games, what he does in the all-around, everyone will talk about it for a while," Whitlock said.
"Bringing it back from disaster in the pommel horse, and screaming back from 17th place to second finish.
"To be able to react that way and go and stick every landing from there on, it got to every piece and he was nailing it. It almost shone a light on how he reacts best and how he delivers his best.
"I think that comes from his fight, he does it again on the high bar to finish his unbelievable Commonwealth Games.
"I think he can take a lot of lessons he’s learnt about himself, that he can come back with a vengeance after disaster, and to know you can confidently do that going into your future competitions, you’ll almost feel invincible, like I can do whatever I want."
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