LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Commonwealth Games wrapped up a busy weekend in Lynchburg Sunday. More than 25 sporting events were part of this year's games at Liberty University. That's the most the tournament has ever hosted.
Virginia Amateur Sports President Dan Foutz oversaw the event for the first time, but credits his staff for record number of athletes that took the field this year. WSLS also caught up with former Olympic basketball star, Bimbo Coles, who's son was competing in baseball.
Coles watched as his son's team played to try to make their mark on Commonwealth Games history Sunday. He says win or lose, it's a fantastic opportunity.
"A lot of these kids are not going to get to experience the Olympics, so to be able to kind of compete at this level over a weekend and have the opportunity to win a gold medal, I think it means the world to them," said Coles.
Foutz says that opportunity was offered to even more people this year, with several new events added, including ultimate-frisbee, rugby, and even a virtual tournament.
"We added E-games this year which was featured in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games and will be a medal sport in 2020," said Foutz.
Foutz says the results aren't posted yet, but there's already big news coming from some events.
"The power-lifting event, there were some national records broken there yesterday, it was a huge event. I spent some time over there and watching folks bench press over 700 pounds, it's impressive to see that," said Foutz.
Back on the diamond, Coles doesn't expect his son to break a record, but he and hundreds of other parents are proud all the same.
"He's competing hard and playing hard and for me, that's what it's all about," said Coles.
While the majority of events took place this weekend, Foutz says games continue through December.