Commonwealth Games Special
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®
1970
Commonwealth Games Special
EDINBURGH 1970
SCOTLAND COMES UP GOLD
The IX Commonwealth Games
proved to be a Games of many
firsts. The Edinburgh Games, the
first Games to be hosted in
Scotland, were the first
Commonwealth Games to use
metric distances and electronic
photo-finish technology for events.
HM Queen Elizabeth II in her
capacity as Head of the
Commonwealth attended her first
Games.
It was the first time they were
named British Commonwealth
Games. Crawford Fairbrother, the
Paisley high jumper took the oath
on behalf of the competitors at the
opening ceremony where HRH
Prince Philip, The Duke of
Edinburgh, officially opened the
Games at Meadowbank Stadium.
Almost 1,750 athletes and officials
from 42 nations competed in the
ten events, some of the best
athletes in the world were
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competing and there was plenty of
British success. Scottish athletes dress uniform
© Sporting Memories Network CIC 20141970
Scotland won 25 medals, including
six gold and eight silver.
21-year-old Ian Stewart set a
European record at 5,000m when he
recorded a time of 13:22:8 to win
gold. In one of the greatest races of
all time he defeated current world
record holder Ron Clarke, Olympic
1,500m champion Kip Keino and
fellow Scot Ian McCafferty, who won
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silver. Stewart’s brother Peter just
missed out on a medal finishing Medal winners Ian Stewart (gold), Ian McCafferty (silver) and Kip
fourth. Keino (bronze)
There were gold medals for Lachie
Stewart (10,000m), Rosemary Stirling
(800m), Rosemary Payne (Discus),
Thomas Imrie (Boxing, 71kg) and
Alexander Leckie (Fencing, Sabre
Individual).
In the ten mile time trial cycling at
the Velodrome Brian Temple on his
‘Flying Scotsman’ bike was narrowly
beaten to the gold by Jocellyn Lovell.
Lachie Stewart, cheered on by a
passionate home crowd, out-sprinted
the multiple world record holder and
overwhelming favourite, Australian
Ron Clarke, to win gold in the
10,000m on the first day of the
Games. Stewart took more than 20
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seconds off his previous best. Stewart
would run to and from his work at the
The 10,000m, the closing laps with Taylor and Clarke
dental hospital as part of his training. being trailed by eventual winner ‘Lachie’ Stewart
© Sporting Memories Network CIC 20141970
Lachie is pictured right during his lap of honour
carrying ‘Dunky Dick’, the unofficial mascot of the
Scottish athletics team. ‘Dunky’ was named after
Duncan McLeod Wright, one of Scotland’s most
successful marathon runners, who competed in
three Olympic Games and two Commonwealth
and Empire Games. He was the Scottish Team
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Manager during the 1970 Games. The Mascot’s
surname was in honour of Frank Dick the 1970s
team coach.
Lachie Stewart with ‘Dunky Dick’
The final individual event before the closing
ceremony of the Games at Meadowbank Stadium
was the eagerly anticipated 5,000m final which
featured a very strong field including the pre-race
favourite, the defending champion from Kenya,
Kip Keino who earlier in the week had won the
1,500m. The hugely popular 33-year-old
Australian athlete Ron Clarke, the holder of many
world records was hoping to win his first gold in
what is surely his final Commonwealth Games.
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Dick Taylor, who had created a UK record on the Crawford Fairbrother who took the oath at the
same track six weeks earlier, led the field for opening ceremony failed to qualify for the high
more than two miles but with 800 metres jump final the following day
remaining, Ian McCafferty hit the front to the
delight of the capacity crowd with Stewart on his
shoulder and Keino in third position. As they
entered the final lap Stewart made a decisive
move and held off a challenge from the Kenyan
going into the final straight and with his right arm
aloft, Stewart crossed the line the
Commonwealth champion with Ian McCafferty
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taking the silver medal in a Scottish Native record
of 13:23:4, with the illustrious Keino in the bronze
medal position. Howard Payne, winner of the gold medal
for hammer throwing in action
© Sporting Memories Network CIC 20141970
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Mary Peters from Northern Ireland with her two gold Gold medallist David Hemery with Mal Baird of
medals from the IX British Commonwealth games Australia (silver) and the Jamaican Godrey Murray
(bronze)
COMMONWEALTH GAMES ROUND UP
The Northern Ireland athlete Mary Peters, competing in her fourth Games, won her
first gold medals, winning the Pentathlon and Shot Put to add to the silver she won in
1966. Her total of 5,148 points was a new Games record.
The 1968 Mexico City Olympics 400m hurdles winner and world record holder David
Hemery won gold in the 110m hurdles. There was gold for Ron Hill in the marathon as
England finished second behind Australia in the medals table, winning 27 gold.
19-year-old Jamaican sprinter Don Quarrie won the gold medal in both the 100 and
200m, surprising his more experienced competitors. Anchoring the Jamaican 4 x 100m
relay team, he won a third Commonwealth title. Another 19-year-old, the Australian
Raelene Boyle, matched Quarrie’s achievements in the women’s events.
The construction of the £1.6 million purpose-built Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh
began in 1967 and hosted the aquatic events which were dominated by Australia and
Canada. Their domination of the gold medal places was only broken by Michael
Richards of Wales in the 200m backstroke and the English swimmer Diane Lansley in
the 100m butterfly.
The normal licensing laws were relaxed to allow athletes out for a pint after the usual
closing time at 10pm.
© Sporting Memories Network CIC 20141970
ONE SMALL STEP…ONE GIANT LEAP
Welshman Lynn Davies made history by becoming the first man to regain the
Commonwealth Games long-jump title. Davies, the 1964 Olympic champion, took the
gold medal with a jump of 8.06m and was the only man in the competition to go over
the eight metre mark. Gold in Edinburgh, to add to the title he won in Jamaica four
years earlier, was the fourth major international title for Davies and the first by a
Welsh athlete at these games. Davies, who had struggled with an Achilles injury
throughout much of the season, only qualified for the final in fifth place but showed
his competitive spirit and top-class jumping ability by making that one big jump to
secure the title.
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© Sporting Memories Network CIC 20141986
ISSUE 63
LYNCH WINS 10,000m GOLD
Dundee athlete Liz Lynch won Scotland’s only gold
medal in Athletics at the Commonwealth Games,
winning the 10,000m. The 22-year-old Hawkhill
Harriers athlete finished nearly 12 seconds ahead
of Anne Audain of New Zealand in silver position.
Lynch, a relative unknown, had been on a
scholarship to the States for the previous three
years and returned to the UK to run her first 10K
race that was a qualifier for the Commonwealth
Games Scottish team. She managed to lap
everyone in the field despite many of them still
being on for target for hitting the qualifying time.
Despite the miserable weather, the Meadowbank
Stadium was packed and roared their
encouragement for their fellow Scot. With 800
metres to go Lynch had pulled clear and for the
final two laps the crowd created an electric
atmosphere, rising to their feet and shouting their
encouragement as the young Scot powered her
way to gold, smashing the British record by an
enormous margin in the process.
At the finish a clearly delighted Lynch took the
acclaim of the crowd as she went on a lap of
honour having been handed a Scottish flag. Lynch,
the first ever winner of the Commonwealth Games
10,000m had recorded the eighth fastest ever time
and was handed more Saltires by the ecstatic
crowd as she completed her lap of honour. Despite
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the pouring rain the crowd remained in place to
see Lynch presented with her gold medal.
Liz Lynch celebrates her dominant win
© Sporting Memories Network CIC 20141986
REDGRAVE ROWS
TO GOLDEN TREBLE
After suffering a back injury that
caused him to withdraw from last
year’s World Championships and
give serious consideration to giving
up the sport, the rower Steve
Redgrave won three gold medals,
setting records as he went along.
The prospect of competing in the
Commonwealth Games motivated
the 24-year-old on his fight to
regain fitness.
Redgrave , who was a member of
the coxed four team who won gold
at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
won the single sculls, coxless pairs
with Andy Holmes and coxed fours
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with Martin Cross, Adam Clift, Andy
Holmes and Adrian Ellison.
The weather at Strathclyde Park where the rowing was taking place was quite
changeable but the rowers benefitted from strong winds from behind to make times
really fast. The singles event took place over two days with a rest day before the four
and pair followed over two days. Andy Holmes, Redgrave’s partner in the coxless pairs,
had been in the fours team who won gold in Los Angeles and retired from the sport,
the opportunity to compete in Edinburgh brought him out of retirement.
The pair were on course to smash the coxless pairs world record having rowed flat out
to just over half way but cruised the rest of the distance to conserve energy for the
coxed fours final which followed straight after; they still managed to set a
Commonwealth record. The pair had obviously conserved enough energy as they
helped set yet another new Commonwealth record as the coxed fours powered to gold.
© Sporting Memories Network CIC 20141986
ENGLAND TOP MEDALS TABLE IN SCOTLAND
Edinburgh hosted the Commonwealth Games for the second time but after the
tremendous success of 1970 there was controversy as 32 countries boycotted the
Games due to the UK’s sporting links with South Africa.
England topped the medals table with a total of 144 which included 52 gold and 43
silver. Steve Cram won gold in the 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m. Roger Black in the
400m, Jon Solly in the 10,000m and the men’s 4 x 400m relay team all won gold on the
track. Daley Thompson set a new Commonwealth record on his way to Decathlon gold.
Sally Gunnell won gold in the 100m hurdles with Wendy Jeal making it an England first
and second. Tessa Sanderson needed a Commonwealth record to take gold and beat
her great rival Fatima Whitbread in the Javelin. Judy Simpson in the Heptathlon and
Joyce Oladapo in the long jump were both gold medallists along with the women’s 4 x
100m relay team.
Ben Johnson, the Canadian world record holder held off the challenge of silver
medallist Linford Christie to win gold in the 100m and had to settle for bronze in the
200m as his compatriot Atlee Mahorn took gold with the English athlete Todd Bennett
in silver position.
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Editor: Chris Jameson
Images from Mirrorpix & PAImages
Contributions from Dr. Fiona Skillen & Dr.
John Harris at Glasgow Caledonian
University.
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Opening ceremony of the 1986 Commonwealth Games at
Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh.
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