What Did Chloe Dunbar Say About Confidence at Commonwealth Games?
A Canadian sprinter's silver-medal quote says more about representation than the stopwatch does.
Key takeaway: Yes — after taking silver in the T47 100m at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Chloe Dunbar said watching her teammate Sheriauna Haase run confidently without covering her own limb difference gave her permission to stop hiding her prosthetic. Dunbar said seeing Haase compete that way “made me become the person…
By Dear Sarah · · Updated
Key takeaways
- Chloe Dunbar won silver in the women's T47 100m at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, finishing behind her Canadian teammate Sheriauna Haase.
- Sheriauna Haase won gold with a Canadian record time of 12.23 seconds, and Dunbar took silver with a personal best of 12.33 seconds.
- Dunbar said she used to cover her prosthetic while running because she worried about how people would perceive her image.
- Watching Haase compete confidently without covering her own limb difference gave Dunbar the confidence to stop hiding hers.
- Both athletes compete in the T47 para-athletics classification for people with an upper-limb difference.
Two weeks ago in Glasgow, a Canadian sprinter named Chloe Dunbar crossed the finish line in second place at the Commonwealth Games and said something more memorable than her time on the clock. After taking silver in the women's T47 100m, Dunbar told reporters she used to run wearing a cosmetic cover over her prosthetic because she was nervous about what people would think of her body. Then she watched her teammate, Sheriauna Haase, run the same race without covering her own limb difference, completely unbothered. "That has made me become the person that I am today," Dunbar said. "Especially in athletics."
What did Chloe Dunbar actually say?
Here's the fuller quote, reported by Glasgow 2026's official site and Commonwealth Sport Canada: "I used to run with my prosthetic because I was nervous about what people would think about my image, and then I've seen Sherry running without her arm and being confident of who she was, so that's now made me become the person that I am today — especially in athletics."
Read that twice. It isn't a quote about speed, and it isn't really about Dunbar's own willpower either. It's about what happens when you watch someone you respect choose visibility over hiding, and realize you're allowed to make the same choice.
Two teammates, one podium
Here's what actually happened on the track. On July 30, Haase and Dunbar, both racing in the T47 classification for athletes with an upper-limb difference, went one-two in the 100m final. Haase ran a Canadian record of 12.23 seconds for gold. Dunbar clocked a personal best 12.33 for silver. Two teammates, one podium, the Canadian Paralympic Committee later counting it among the ten medals Canadian Para athletes brought home from Glasgow.
But it was Dunbar's answer to a simple post-race question, not the stopwatch, that traveled. "Extremely pleased to be able to do it with Sheriauna here," she added. "It makes it so much better." She wasn't just happy to share a podium. She was naming, out loud, the exact moment someone else's confidence became her permission slip.
Why this matters for you
You probably aren't hiding a prosthetic. But nearly every woman I talk to is hiding something: a scar, a body that doesn't match the algorithm, an accent she softens, a diagnosis she keeps quiet, a story she's decided is too much for polite company. Dunbar's line names something confidence research keeps circling back to: seeing someone like you do the thing unapologetically is often what makes it feel possible for you. It's less about willpower and more about evidence.
This is the same pattern behind what actually helps young girls build real confidence — it isn't a personality trait some girls are born with, it's built by watching someone else go first. It's also why programs like WNBA Changemaker Day matter more than they look on paper: 150 teen girls in a room with pros isn't just a nice afternoon, it's proof of what's possible, stored in the body. And it's part of why Malala Yousafzai is putting real money into women's sports — visibility for girls and women doesn't happen by accident. Someone has to fund the stage, and someone has to stand on it without covering up.
One thing to try today
Name one part of yourself you cover out of habit rather than choice. You don't have to change anything about it today. Just notice whether anyone has ever let you see them not hiding the same thing, and if someone has, tell them. A text works. "I don't think I've said this, but watching you be so openly yourself made it easier for me to be myself too" is a two-minute message that might live in someone's memory the way Haase's example is now living in Dunbar's.
Quote to sit with
"I'm not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I'm the first Simone Biles." — Simone Biles
💌 Sarah
Frequently asked questions
What is the T47 classification in para athletics?
T47 is a para-athletics category for track athletes with an upper-limb difference, such as partial or total loss of one arm or hand. Athletes compete against others with a comparable level of impairment so results reflect skill and training, not the degree of disability.
Who won the women's T47 100m at the 2026 Commonwealth Games?
Canadian sprinter Sheriauna Haase won gold with a Canadian record time of 12.23 seconds. Her teammate Chloe Dunbar took silver with a personal best of 12.33 seconds, and the pair shared the podium in Glasgow on July 30, 2026.
Why did Chloe Dunbar say she used to hide her prosthetic?
Dunbar said she was nervous about what people would think of her image, so she used to run with a cosmetic cover over her prosthetic arm. She has said watching teammate Sheriauna Haase compete without covering her own limb difference changed that for her.
Does seeing someone like you actually build confidence?
Yes, this is a well-documented pattern sometimes summarized as “you can't be what you can't see.” Watching someone who shares your identity or body do a hard thing unapologetically tends to make that choice feel more possible for you too, more than encouragement alone does.
How can I apply this idea if I'm not an athlete?
Notice one thing about yourself you tend to cover out of habit rather than genuine choice, and pay attention to anyone who has modeled not hiding that same thing. Telling that person what their example meant to you is a small, doable way to pass the same permission along.
Sources
- Quotes of the Games: Glasgow 2026 — Glasgow 2026 (official Commonwealth Games site)
- Canadian Para athletes win 10 medals at 2026 Commonwealth Games — Canadian Paralympic Committee
- Haase and Dunbar Stand Atop the Podium Together — Commonwealth Sport Canada
Keep reading
- Why Is Malala Yousafzai Investing in Women's Sports? — Malala just told a packed room in Rio to keep dreaming big. Then she backed it with actual money for girls' sports.
- What Did Lauren Betts Say About Mental Health at the ESPYs? — A WNBA rookie stood on one of sports' biggest stages and said the thing most of us are taught to hide. Here's what she said, and why it's sticking.
- What Did Coco Gauff Say About Serena and Venus Williams? — Coco Gauff says she's still in awe of Serena and Venus Williams — the two women who taught her what she could become before she ever picked up a racket.
- What Helps Young Girls Build Real Confidence? — New data says girls aren't short on bravery. They're short on someone standing next to them when it counts.