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athletics thletics
The last lap!
With TIM MCGRATH
The end of an era? In its heyday it was stated that the sun never sets on the British Empire. Those days are long gone. And it can now be stated that the sun is setting on the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth of Nations, a collection of countries which overwhelmingly bear the mark of British colonialism, meet half way through an Olympiad for their own Games. That the British Empire is a historical relic of half a century ago, is not entirely the reason for the event’s decline, but the geopolitical climate is no doubt a factor: African nations – a majority of Britain’s former colonial conquests, and hence the makeup of the Commonwealth – look as much towards African solidarity as they do to their former
colonial masters, whilst for nations of the British Isles – the foundation of the Commonwealth itself – Europe is the focus of their future. Such is reflected in their sporting ambitions, and with athletics the foundation of all sports the relevance of the discipline is intrinsically linked to that of a multisport event such as the Commonwealth Games. In athletics terms, Australia, New Zealand and Carribean nations are in a league of their own this time around, for all other nations of
the Commonwealth have already participated in their most important championships of the year: the African championships and the European championships, as the case may be. This is no more highlighted by the absences from the event, which make for much more impressive reading than the attendees. Usain Bolt, David Rudisha, Asbel Kiprop, Phillips Idowu, Asafa Powell, Jessica Ennis, Dani Samuels and Christine Ohuruogu
World discus champion Dani samuels will be greatly missed from the australian team.