Game on in Gold Coast

since then. Some have been equally dramatic: golds in sevens, netball and cycling among those best remembered. There will be many more over the next couple of weeks on the Gold Coast.

But none has been as iconic as that moment 44 years ago.

Neither are the Games themselves as prominent in sporting folklore and calendars as they used to be.

Forty years ago the Commonwealth family was tighter, stronger; as young children of that family the nations competing in the Games strove to outdo the parents and bloody the noses of bigger brothers. We were flexing our muscles and building our own empires.

Those victories doubled as a form of soft power in an era where the Commonwealth had more clout and influence.

That has dissipated somewhat as the political interests of New Zealand and other ‘young’ nations have grown, the world has become more connected, and other countries have become more important to us in terms of global trade and regional impact.

Similarly, we have increasingly looked beyond the Commonwealth for arenas to display our sporting ambitions; the Games are now just one of many competitions vying for our attention and sponsorship.

That appears to have lessened the prestige of the Games for some athletes in what has become a busier, more monied, global sporting schedule.

Many sports have their own world champs and, of course, the Olympics as the summit, with the Commonwealth counterpart merely a significant base camp in the tough climb ahead. And the greater financial reward that beckons. A Commonwealth Games campaign has sometimes been discarded in the chase for financial glory elsewhere.

Sometimes athletes have needed to rest in a longer-term quest for world titles. A number will not be on the Gold Coast because of injury and fatigue.

That’s the case for Canada’s triple Olympic sprint medallist Andre De Grasse, who has declined a trip to Australia in order to focus on his fitness ahead of the outdoor season.

Kenya’s 800m star David Rudisha is also not competing, preferring instead the lure of Diamond League cash.

Still, what remains is a grand opportunity for nations and athletes whose great endeavours are often overshadowed by bigger players on bigger stages. Who don’t have the financial might to fund Olympic dreams.

There is an opportunity too for up-and-coming Kiwi athletes to flex their own muscles in a significant sporting event in our own backyard. To give us that first view of future stars who might go on to bigger and better things.