1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh.
Organisation and controversy
Unlike the 1970 Games in Edinburgh, which were popular and successful, the 1986 Games are ill-famed for the wide political boycott connected with them and the resulting financial mismanagement.[1]
The majority of Commonwealth nations staged a boycott, so that the Games appeared to be a whites-only event. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries—largely African, Asian and Caribbean states—stayed away because of the Thatcher government's policy of keeping Britain's sporting links with apartheid South Africa in preference to participating in the general sporting boycott of that country. Consequently, Edinburgh 1986 witnessed the lowest number of athletes since Auckland 1950.[2] Bermuda was a particularly late withdrawal, as its athletes appeared in the opening ceremony and in the opening day of competition before the Bermuda Olympic Association decided to formally withdraw.[3]
Further controversy arose when it was revealed that through this much-reduced participation and the resultant decline in anticipated broadcasting and sponsorship revenues, the Organising Committee was facing a big financial black hole. The boycott ended any prospect of securing emergency government assistance. Businessman Robert Maxwell stepped in to offer funding, taking over as chairman; but although he promised to invest £2m, his contribution was just £250,000. On a budget of £14m, the Games opened with a deficit of £3m, which later grew to £4.3m, and instead of putting enough money into the event to save it, the new chairman of the Games asked creditors to forgo half the payment due to them to keep the event out of liquidation. The debt was finally paid off in 1989, with the city of Edinburgh losing approximately £500,000.[4]
Several participants were excluded because they breached the amateurism rules, most notably lawn bowlers Phil Skoglund from New Zealand and Willie Wood from Scotland, both of whom have competed in subsequent games.
Participating teams
27 teams were represented at the 1986 Games.
(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
Australia
Bermuda (Withdrew after opening day of competition)[5]
Botswana
Canada
Cayman Islands
Cook Islands
England
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Gibraltar
Guernsey
Hong Kong
Isle of Man
Jersey
Lesotho
Malawi
Maldives
Malta
New Zealand
Norfolk Island
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Singapore
Swaziland
Vanuatu
Wales
Western Samoa
Opening ceremony
The theme of the opening ceremony celebrated the "Spirit of Youth" and included 6500 Scottish schoolchildren taking part in a series of large Mass Games-style Gymnastics routines. The theme song "Spirit of Youth" was written by Gerard Kenny. The ceremony began on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle from which hundreds of schoolchildren ran down the Royal Mile, through Holyrood Park to Meadowbank Stadium.[6]
Venues
Medals by country
| 1 |  England |
52 | 43 | 49 | 144 |
| 2 |  Canada |
51 | 34 | 31 | 116 |
| 3 |  Australia |
40 | 46 | 35 | 121 |
| 4 |  New Zealand |
8 | 16 | 14 | 38 |
| 5 |  Wales |
6 | 5 | 12 | 23 |
| 6 |  Scotland |
3 | 12 | 18 | 33 |
| 7 |  Northern Ireland |
2 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
| 8 |  Isle of Man |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  Guernsey |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 |  Swaziland |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 |  Hong Kong |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 |  Malawi |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 |  Botswana |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Jersey |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Singapore |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 163 | 163 | 176 | 502 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Medals by event
Aquatics
Athletics
Badminton
Bowls
Boxing
Cycling
Track
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ||||||
| Time Trial | Martin Vinnicombe (AUS) |
00:01:06 | Gary Anderson (NZL) |
00:01:06 | Maxwell Rainsford (AUS) |
00:01:07 |
| Sprint | Gary Neiwand (AUS) |
Alex Ongaro (CAN) |
Eddie Alexander (SCO) |
|||
| Individual Pursuit | Dean Woods (AUS) |
00:04:44 | Colin Sturgess (ENG) |
00:04:51 | Gary Anderson (NZL) |
00:04:54 |
| Team Pursuit | Australia Glenn Clarke Brett Dutton Bill Hardy Wayne McCarney Dean Woods |
00:04:27 | New Zealand Gary Anderson Russell Clune Stephen Swart Andrew Whitford |
00:04:34 | England Chris Boardman Gary Colman Rob Muzio Jon Walshaw Guy Rowland |
overtaken |
| 10 Miles (16 Kilometres) Scratch | Wayne McCarney (AUS) |
00:19:41 | Dean Woods (AUS) |
00:19:41 | Gary Anderson (NZL) |
00:19:41 |
Road
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ||||||
| Road Race | Paul Curran (ENG) |
04:08:50 | Brian Fowler (NZL) |
04:08:50 | Jeff Leslie (AUS) |
04:08:50 |
| Team Time Trial | England Alan Gornall Deno Davie Keith Reynolds Paul Curran |
02:13:16 | New Zealand Blair Cox Graeme Miller Gregory Fraine Paul Leitch |
02:14:50 | Northern Ireland Alastair Irvine Cormac McCann Joseph Barr Martin Quinn |
02:16:13 |
Rowing
Shooting
Pistol
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men/Open | ||||||
| Free Pistol | Greg Yelavich (NZL) |
551 | Phil Adams (AUS) Ho Kar Fai (HKG) |
549 | ||
| Free Pistol – Pairs | Canada Tom Guinn Claude Beaulieu |
1099 | England Paul Leatherdale Richard Wang |
1090 | Australia Phil Adams Bengt Sandström |
1085 |
| Centre-Fire Pistol | Bob Northover (ENG) |
583 | Phil Adams (AUS) |
582 | Rod Hack (AUS) |
580 |
| Centre-Fire Pistol – Pairs | Australia Phil Adams Rod Hack |
1165 | England Bob Northover Michael Cutler |
1157 | New Zealand Rex Hamilton Barry O'Neale |
1153 |
| Rapid-Fire Pistol | Pat Murray (AUS) |
591 | Adrian Breton (GGY) |
588 | Mark Howkins (CAN) |
585 |
| Rapid-Fire Pistol – Pairs | England Brian Girling Terry Turner |
1169 | Australia Pat Murray Jack Mast |
1152 | Canada Mark Howkins André Chevrefils |
1150 |
| Air Pistol | Greg Yelavich (NZL) |
575 | Tom Guinn (CAN) |
574 | Gilbert U (HKG) |
574 |
| Air Pistol – Pairs | England Paul Leatherdale Ian Reid |
1143 | Australia Phil Adams Bruce Favell |
1143 | New Zealand Greg Yelavich Barrie Wickens |
1140 |
Rifle
Shotgun
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men/Open | ||||||
| Trap | Ian Peel (ENG) |
195 | Peter Boden (ENG) |
192 | Roland Phillips (WAL) |
192 |
| Trap – Pairs | England Peter Boden Ian Peel |
185 | Northern Ireland Tom Hewitt Eamon Furphy |
183 | Australia Terry Rumbel Domingo Diaz |
183 |
| Skeet | Nigel Kelly (IOM) |
196 | Joe Neville (ENG) Brian Gabriel (CAN) |
195 | ||
| Skeet – Pairs | England Joe Neville Ken Harman |
195 | Canada Brian Gabriel Don Kwasyncia |
193 | New Zealand John Woolley Jeff Farrell |
189 |
Weightlifting
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ||||||
| Flyweight – Overall | Greg Hayman (AUS) |
212.5 | Charlie Revolta (SCO) |
185 | Alan Ogilvie (SCO) |
177.5 |
| Bantamweight – Overall | Nick Voukelatos (AUS) |
245 | Clayton Chelley (NZL) |
217.5 | Teo Yong Joo (SIN) |
215 |
| Featherweight – Overall | Ray Williams (WAL) |
252.5 | David Lowenstein (AUS) |
250 | Jeffrey Brice (WAL) |
235 |
| Lightweight – Overall | Dean Willey (ENG) |
315 | Ron Laycock (AUS) |
307.5 | Langis Côté (CAN) |
290 |
| Middleweight – Overall | Bill Stellios (AUS) |
302.5 | Louis Payer (CAN) |
300 | Neil Taylor (WAL) |
270 |
| Light Heavyweight – Overall | Dave Morgan (WAL) |
350 | Robert Kabbas (AUS) |
325 | Peter May (ENG) |
317.5 |
| Middle Heavyweight – Overall | Keith Boxell (ENG) |
350 | David Mercer (ENG) |
342.5 | Guy Greavette (CAN) |
340 |
| Sub Heavyweight – Overall | Denis Garon (CAN) |
360 | Duncan Dawkins (ENG) |
332.5 | Andrew Saxton (ENG) |
327.5 |
| Heavyweight – Overall | Kevin Roy (CAN) |
375 | Gino Frantangelo (AUS) |
372.5 | Andrew Davies (WAL) |
370 |
| Super Heavyweight – Overall | Dean Lukin (AUS) |
392.5 | David Bolduc (CAN) |
347.5 | Charles Garzarella (AUS) |
342.5 |
Wrestling
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | ||||||
| Light Flyweight | Ron Moncur (CAN) |
Duncan Burns (ENG) |
David Connelly (SCO)
| |||
| Flyweight | Chris Woodcroft (CAN) |
James McAlary (AUS) |
Nigel Donahue (ENG)
| |||
| Bantamweight | Mitch Ostberg (CAN) |
Steve Reinsfield (NZL) |
Brian Aspen (ENG)
| |||
| Featherweight | Paul Hughes (CAN) |
Dan Cumming (AUS) |
Stephen Bell (NZL)
| |||
| Lightweight | Dave McKay (CAN) |
Zsigmund Kelevitz (AUS) |
Stephen Cooper (ENG)
| |||
| Welterweight | Gary Holmes (CAN) |
George Marsh (AUS) |
Fitzlloyd Walker (ENG)
| |||
| Middleweight | Chris Rinke (CAN) |
Wally Koenig (AUS) |
Anthony Bell (ENG)
| |||
| Light Heavyweight | Noel Loban (ENG) |
Doug Cox (CAN) |
Graeme English (SCO)
| |||
| Heavyweight | Clark Davis (CAN) |
Robert Algie (NZL) |
David Kilpin (ENG)
| |||
| Super Heavyweight | Wayne Brightwell (CAN) |
Albert Patrick (SCO) |
Keith Peache (ENG)
| |||
See also
- 1970 Commonwealth Games, held in Edinburgh
- 2014 Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow.
References
- ^ "The forgotten story of … Robert Maxwell's 1986 Commonwealth Games | Sport | theguardian.com". theguardian.com. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "Scottish independence referendum will increase interest in Glasgow 2014, it is claimed | Glasgow 2014". insidethegames.biz. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ Fraser, Graham (2014-04-25). Glasgow 2014: The Bermuda boycott of 1986 that still hurts. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2014-11-02.
- ^ "Glasgow makes final call for 2014 Games - Athletics - Scotsman.com". News.scotsman.com. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ Fraser, Graham (2014-04-25). Glasgow 2014: The Bermuda boycott of 1986 that still hurts. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2015-08-19.
- ^ "Power From Within - Commonwealth Games 1986 Opening Ceremony - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "Mike Burrell". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Neil Gibson". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Barrie Mabbott". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Shane O'Brien". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Andrew Stevenson". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Don Symon". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Carl Vincent". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Ian Wright". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Andrew Hay". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
External links
- Commonwealth Games official site
- 1986 Commonwealth Games – Australian Commonwealth Games website
- Video of the Opening Ceremony
| Preceded by Brisbane |
Commonwealth Games Edinburgh XIII Commonwealth Games |
Succeeded by Auckland |
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- Use dmy dates from May 2013
- 1986 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games
- 1986 in multi-sport events
- Sport in Edinburgh
- International sports competitions hosted by Scotland
- 1986 in Scottish sport
- Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom
- 20th century in Edinburgh
- International sports competitions hosted by Edinburgh
- International sports boycotts