Game on in Gold Coast
Dick Tayler. Christchurch. 1974.
To New Zealand’s older citizens it remains an unforgettable moment, not only in the history of the Commonwealth Games, but of sport.
Almost as one, we threw our arms into the air to celebrate with Tayler as he jumped for joy and then collapsed in euphoric exhaustion at the end of a stunning 10,000m win.
There have been many more Commonwealth golds in many more stadiums around the world since then. Some have been equally dramatic and inspiring: 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 or will be as iconic as that incredible moment 44 years ago.
Neither are the Games themselves as prominent in sporting folklore and calendars as they used to be. Though they remain significant.
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.
Those victories doubled as a form of soft power in an era and geopolitical arena 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.
Many sports have their own prestigious world championships and, of course, the Olympic Games as the summit, with the Commonwealth counterpart merely a significant base camp. 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 simply needed to rest weary bodies in a longer-term quest for world titles. A number will not be on the Gold Coast because of injury and fatigue.
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 Olympian sporting programmes.
And its an opportunity for upand-coming Kiwi athletes to flex their muscles in a significant sporting event in our own backyard. To give us that first view of future stars who might go on to even bigger and better things.