ELLEN Barber cannot wait to experience the unique atmosphere of a home Commonwealth Games after earning her first Team England selection.

The heptathlete from Shepton Mallet will make her competition debut in Glasgow later this month and says competing in front of British fans is something she has dreamed about since watching the Games in Birmingham three years ago.

"I don't think you can really put it into words," said Barber, who won heptathlon gold at the 2025 UK Athletics Championships. "I'm just incredibly excited to experience home Games and experience that home crowd.

"As a British population, we're so good at supporting our nation, so I just know it's going to be incredible."

Barber was among the spectators at Birmingham 2022, cheering on her training partner Jade O'Dowda, but after narrowly missing out on selection herself through injury, she never imagined her own opportunity would come so soon.

"Being so close in 2022 and then having that gut-wrenching injury and just missing out was really difficult," the 28-year-old continued.

"To come back, make the team and have the opportunity to compete against the best in front of the nation is going to be really special."

The moment she discovered she had secured her place on Team England is one she will never forget.

Barber had just finished dinner on a Monday evening when the Head of Combined Events called with the news.

"He said, 'Congratulations, you've been selected,'" she recalled. "It was just amazing to know that everything I'd put in up until this stage had been worth it. I was just really happy."

Her fiancé, former decathlete James Finney, was by her side when the call came, before Barber quickly shared the news with the rest of her family, including her brother, who is working on a farm in Argentina.

Finney understands exactly what it takes to compete in combined events, having met Barber while the pair were competing outside of the UK.

"He was a former decathlete when he was younger," she said. "We actually met abroad while competing together, and he's also from a similar farming background to me. We just hit it off from there, really."

With her first Commonwealth Games now just around the corner, Barber is not afraid to admit her ambitions stretch beyond simply making up the numbers.

"First of all, I want to get there, do my best and compete at my best," she added. "But at the end of the day, I do want a medal. That is my ultimate goal.

"I know that in the heptathlon anything can happen, but if I put together seven good events, hopefully we'll come away with something special."

Whatever happens in Glasgow, Barber's future is already taking shape away from athletics.

She works part-time as an estate and property manager for her family's Somerset farming business, A.J. and R.G. Barber Ltd, whose award-winning cheddar has been produced by the family since 1833.

As a seventh-generation member of the business, she'll be hoping to be the big cheese in Glasgow later this month. The Games start on Thursday, July 23 and end on Sunday, August 2.

Team England are Ready to Win at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Keep up to date on https://teamengland.org/.

Phil Campbell, Sportsbeat