We’re for good sports. And the world knows it.

Whether it’s taking on the best athletes on the planet or organising an event, the Gold Coast punches way above its weight.

Take Olympic champions Sally Pearson, Mathew Belcher, Emma Snowsill and Ken Wallace.

Or surfing greats Stephanie Gilmore and Joel Parkinson, motorsport champion Casey Stoner, golfers Adam Scott and Jason Day and Grand Slam tennis winner Sam Stosur.

They honed their skills on the Gold Coast and went on to beat the best.

They won gold and world titles - and the hearts of the nation. They’re good sports. Just like the thousands of kids, young and old, who turn up at sporting clubs along the Coast every week.

From the Nippers on our golden beaches to the ageless bowlers and golfers on the greens, a sporting spirit pulsates through the Gold Coast.

The nursery also includes thousands of children mimicking the heroics of stars such as rugby league’s Benji Marshall, a product of the city’s renowned secondary school factory line, and the dream of forging their own legacy with the Gold Coast Titans and Gold Coast Suns in the NRL and AFL.

Not many of us will emulate the Pearsons, Stosurs, Gilmores or Marshalls of this world but that doesn’t stop us. When the Gold Coast puts on events like our world-class marathon festival, more than 25,000 people take part.

Sure, the event attracts elite athletes from around the world but thousands are Gold Coast weekend warriors just wanting a challenge and the buzz of crossing a finishing line.

When the brilliant athletes of the World Surf League turn up at Snapper Rocks for the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro events, we watch in awe and nod in appreciation.

Many starry-eyed kids in the huge crowd do more.

Inspired, they pursue a dream of becoming another Gilmore, Mick Fanning or Parkinson. That’s the Gold Coast sporting spirit.

Other sporting greats were lured to the Gold Coast later in life. People such as surfing champion Mick Fanning, motorcycle ace Mick Doohan and running legend Ron Clarke came and never left. The Gold Coast’s proudest sporting achievement, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, is testament to people such as Clarke, the champion athlete who became our city’s mayor.

And the Games will be a tribute to the sporting spirit of the Gold Coast, which lives in us 365 days a year.