commonwealth games memories
With the Melbourne Games almost upon us, swimmers, coaches and journalists who have attended the swimming competition at "the friendly games" share their experiences.
manchester 2002: ian pope (australia)
The thing I liked about Manchester was the intimacy with the crowd. They were right there on the deck and the way they got the crowd involved was fantastic. It was certainly a great atmosphere, it was just electric, everyone... [more...]
manchester 2002: steve parry (england)
The home games were absolutely amazing. I really wanted to do some special things in Manchester - just because it was only 30 miles away form where I was born and I was training n Manchester at the time... [more...]
kuala lumpur 1998: bob ballard (BBC)
1998, Kuala Lumpur, was my first Commonwealth Games, in fact, my first major swimming event for BBC Radio 5 Live. Although I had covered the 1993 European Long Course Champs in Sheffield five years previously for Radio Sheffield, this was... [more...]
kuala lumpur 1998: steve parry (england)
Kuala Lumpur had 13300 odd seats and it was absolutely unbelievable and they were very, very enthusiastic there. OF course the Commonwealth Games creates lots and lots of rivalries and I'd never seen anything like it and it was something... [more...]
kuala lumpur 1998: ian thorpe (australia)
The team officials had put me in a room with the old heads of the team - Phil Rogers Chris Fydler, Matt Dunn and Kieren Perkins. All the talk was about the 200m freestyle world record [Giorgio Lamberti's 1:46.69 from... [more...]
manchester 2002: ian thorpe (australia)
The best thing about Manchester was the atmosphere of the tiny pool. The constant musical backdrop kept the crowd revved up and wildly enthusiastic. the spectators in the front row were so close they could shake my hand. The relaxed... [more...]
victoria 1994: james parrack (england)
I was lucky that I had the chance to visit two very beautiful corners of the world for my two Commie Games. I remember a wide-eyed youngster called James Hickman training with the Leeds group before the Games, and his... [more...]
auckland 1990: james parrack (england)
My abiding memory from Auckland was the 100 breaststoke final where I took silver in a memorable England 1-2-3 and the media feeding frenzy that accompanied our success. Adrian had mixed feelings at the time and it took him a... [more...]
auckland 1990: adrian moorhouse (england)
The 1990 Games were a very different one for me as I'd won the Olympics in 1988 and broken the world record and unfortunately Victor Davis had sadly died by then so I was an overwhelming favourite going into the... [more...]
edinburgh 1986: adrian moorhouse (england)
1986 was a home games albeit with a predominantly Scottish crowd and it was a brilliant atmosphere. There were big Scottish and Welsh contingents as well as the English, when usually if you travel a long way to the Games... [more...]
kingston 1966: andy wilson (england)
I am quite the worst person to write about the eighth British Empire and Commonwealth Games as it was known then, held in the third world capital of Jamaica, Kingston. Quite the worst as I was the only English swimmer... [more...]
kingston 1966: don talbot (australia)
There was some official trepidation about the game being held in Jamaica - a country of economic disadvantage and Third-World conditions. I certainly didn't share the unease; the name Jamaica after all had a magic ring to it. Harry Belafonte... [more...]
christchurch 1974: steve nash (england)
As far as swims go I suppose Brian Brinkley winning a major title in the 200m fly must be one of the highlights from an English perspective, though I wasn't able to share in the excitement as I was in... [more...]
christchurch 1974: steve badger (australia)
You remember certain things about a meet and for me it was knowing at 150m in the 200m freestyle final that you're going to win the race - that's not a bad feeling. There were about 6 guys who'd all... [more...]
brisbane 1982: phil hubble (england)
The 1982 Commonwealth Games pool was "state of the art" in those days. The building was new and modern, yet very functional. It was something special to see from a distance, however stepping inside the building magnified the importance of... [more...]
brisbane 1982: adrian moorhouse (england)
The 1982 Commonwealth Games was my first major meet; I was only 18 and being on that stage and winning a gold made me realise that what I was hoping for could be possible so it was quite an important... [more...]