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Host city | Vancouver, Canada |
---|---|
Nations | 24 |
Athletes | 662 |
Events | 91 |
Opening | 30 July 1954 |
Closing | 7 August 1954 |
Opened by | Earl Alexander of Tunis |
Closed by | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh |
Athlete's Oath | Bill Parnell |
Main venue | Empire Stadium |
The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war Games, the second Canadian Games after the inaugural event in Hamilton and the first event since the name change from British Empire Games took effect in 1952.
It was at these games that the "Miracle Mile" took place between Roger Bannister and John Landy at Empire Stadium. This was the first time these two (and at that time the only two) sub-four-minute mile runners appeared in the same race, and also the first time two runners broke four minutes in the same race. On the same afternoon, Jim Peters, the holder of the world best time for the marathon, entered the stadium 17 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, but collapsed on his final lap, and never completed the race.
The games were attended by 24 nations and 662 competitors. [1]
24 teams were represented at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
(Teams competing for the first time are shown in bold).
* Host nation (Canada)
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | England | 23 | 24 | 20 | 67 |
2 | Australia | 20 | 11 | 17 | 48 |
3 | South Africa | 16 | 6 | 13 | 35 |
4 | Canada * | 9 | 20 | 14 | 43 |
5 | New Zealand | 7 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
6 | Scotland | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
7 | Southern Rhodesia | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
8 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
9 | Northern Ireland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
10 | Northern Rhodesia | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
11 | Nigeria | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
12 | Pakistan | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
13 | Wales | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
14 | Jamaica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
15 | Barbados | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Hong Kong | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Uganda | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
18 | British Guiana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (18 entries) | 92 | 89 | 89 | 270 |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Flyweight Men | Dick Currie (SCO) | Abe Bekker (NRH) | Warner Batchelor (AUS) |
Bantamweight Men | John Smillie (SCO) | Gordon Smith (SRH) | Abubakar Idi Garuba (NGR) |
Featherweight Men | Leonard Leisching (SAF) | Malcolm Collins (WAL) | Dave Charnley (ENG) |
Lightweight Men | Piet van Staden (SRH) | Frank McQuillan (SCO) | Brian Cahill (AUS) |
Light Welterweight Men | Mickey Bergin (CAN) | Aubrey Harris (SRH) | Des Duguid (AUS) |
Welterweight Men | Nicholas Gargano (ENG) | Rodney Litzow (AUS) | Hendrik van der Linde (SAF) |
Light Middleweight Men | Wilf Greaves (CAN) | Freddy Wright (NRH) | Bruce Wells (ENG) |
Middleweight Men | Johannes van der Kolff (SAF) | Arthur Crawford (NRH) | Marcel Piau (CAN) |
Light Heavyweight Men | Piet van Vuuren (SAF) | Tony Madigan (AUS) | Bill Misselbrook (CAN) |
Heavyweight Men | Brian Harper (ENG) | Gerry Buchanan (CAN) | George Jenkins (SAF) |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time Trial Men | Dick Ploog (AUS) | 00:01:12 | Keith Harrison (ENG) | 00:01:13 | ||
Alfred Swift (SAF) | ||||||
Sprint Men | Cyril Peacock (ENG) | +not awarded | Tom Shardelow (SAF) | |||
Individual Pursuit Men | Norman Sheil (ENG) | 00:05:03 | Peter Brotherton (ENG) | 00:05:09 | Robert Fowler (SAF) | 00:05:07 |
10 Miles Scratch Men | Lindsay Cocks (AUS) | 00:21:59 | Keith Harrison (ENG) | Don Skene (WAL) |
+ Lionel Cox did not receive a silver medal, the Australian cycling team refused to participate in the gold and bronze medal playoffs and were subsequently disqualified. [2]
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Road Race Men | Eric Thompson (ENG) | 02:44:08 | John Baird (NZL) | NTT | Bernard Pusey (ENG) | NTT |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Foil Men | René Paul (ENG) | John Fethers (AUS) | Allan Jay (ENG) |
Foil – Team Men | England (ENG) René Paul Allan Jay Ralph Cooperman | Australia (AUS) Ivan Lund John Fethers Rod Steel | Canada (CAN) Carl Schwende J.A. Howard Roland Asselin |
Épée Men | Ivan Lund (AUS) | René Paul (ENG) | Carl Schwende (CAN) |
Épée – Team Men | England (ENG) René Paul Allan Jay Charles de Beaumont | Canada (CAN) Carl Schwende Edward Brooke Roland Asselin | Australia (AUS) Ivan Lund John Fethers Laurence Harding-Smith |
Sabre Men | Mike Amberg (ENG) | Ralph Cooperman (ENG) | John Fethers (AUS) |
Sabre- Team Men | Canada (CAN) Carl Schwende Leslie Krasa Roland Asselin | England (ENG) Michael Amberg William Beatley Ralph Cooperman | Australia (AUS) Ivan Lund John Fethers Rod Steel Laurence Harding-Smith |
Foil Women | Mary Glen-Haig (ENG) | Gillian Sheen (ENG) | Aileen Harding (WAL) |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men's single sculls | Don Rowlands (NZL) | 8:28 | Sidney Rand (ENG) | 8:43 | Bobby Williams (CAN) | 8:51 |
Men's double sculls | Mervyn Wood & Murray Riley (AUS) | 7:55 | Bob Parker & Reg Douglas (NZL) | 8:05 | Donald Guest & Lawrence Stephan (CAN) | 8:29 |
Men's coxless pair | Bob Parker & Reg Douglas (NZL) | 8:24 | Tom Christie & Nicholas Clack (ENG) | 8:24 | Dave Anderson & Geoff Williamson (AUS) | 8:30 |
Men's coxed four | Lionel Robberds, Dave Anderson, Peter Evatt, Geoff Williamson & Mervyn Wood (AUS) | 7:58 | Bruce Culpan, Kerry Ashby, Murray Ashby, Bill Tinnock & Stanley Callagher (NZL) | 8:04 | Geoffrey Page, John Macmillan, Alastair Davidson, Maurice Legg & David Glynne-Jones (ENG) | 8:05 |
Men's eight | Douglas McDonald, Glen Smith, H.J. Zloklikovits, K.J. Drummond, Lawrence West, Ray Sierpina, Robert Wilson, Thomas Toynbee & Thomas Harris (CAN) | 6:59 | Alastair Davidson, Alan Watson, David Glynne-Jones, Geoffrey Page, John Pope, Joe Eldeen, M.G.C. Savage, Maurice Legg & John Macmillan (ENG) | 7:11 |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
110 yd freestyle | Jon Henricks (AUS) | 56.5 | Cyrus Weld (AUS) | 58.5 | Rex Aubrey (AUS) | 58.7 |
440 yd freestyle | Gary Chapman (AUS) | 4:39.8 | Jack Wardrop (SCO) | 4:41.5 | Graham Johnston (SAF) | 4:43.3 |
1650 yd freestyle | Graham Johnston (SAF) | 19:01.4 | Peter Duncan (SAF) | 19:22.1 | Gary Chapman (AUS) | 19:28.4 |
110 yd backstroke | John Brockway (WAL) | 1:06.5 | Lincoln Hurring (NZL) | 1:06.9 | Cyrus Weld (AUS) | 1:08.6 |
220 yd breaststroke | Jack Doms (NZL) | 2:52.6 | Peter Jervis (ENG) | 2:52.6 | Alan Hime (ENG) | 2:52.8 |
4×220 yd freestyle relay | Australia David Hawkins Gary Chapman Jon Henricks Rex Aubrey | 8:47.6 | Canada Allen Gilchrist George Park Gerald McNamee Ted Simpson | 8:56.0 | South Africa Dennis Ford Graham Johnston Peter Duncan Billy Steuart | 8:56.3 |
3×110 yd medley relay | Australia Cyrus Weld David Hawkins Jon Henricks | 3:22.0 | New Zealand Frederick Lucas Jack Doms Lincoln Hurring | 3:26.6 | Scotland Jack Wardrop John Service Robert Wardrop | 3:27.3 |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
110 yd freestyle | Lorraine Crapp (AUS) | 1:05.8 | Virginia Grant (CAN) | 1:06.3 | Joan Harrison (SAF) | 1:08.2 |
440 yd freestyle | Lorraine Crapp (AUS) | 5:11.4 | Gladys Priestley (CAN) | 5:19.6 | Margaret Girvan (SCO) | 5:21.4 |
110 yd backstroke | Joan Harrison (SAF) | 1:15.2 | Pat Symons (ENG) | 1:17.4 | Jean Stewart (NZL) | 1:17.5 |
220 yd breaststroke | Elenor Gordon (SCO) | 2:59.2 | Mary Morgan (SAF) | 3:03.3 | Margaret Grundy (ENG) | 3:04.5 |
4×110 yd freestyle relay | South Africa Felicity Loveday Joan Harrison Machduldt Petzer Natalie Myburgh | 4:33.9 | Canada Beth Whittall Gladys Priestley Helen Stewart Virginia Grant | 4:37.0 | England Daphne Wilkinson Fearne Ewart Jean Botham Valerie Nares-Pillow | 4:41.8 |
3×110 yd medley relay | Scotland Helen Gordon Margaret McDowell Margaret Girvan | 3:51.0 | South Africa Joan Harrison Machduldt Petzer Mary Morgan | 3:52.7 | Australia Jann Grier Judith Knight Lorraine Crapp | 3:55.6 |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 Metres Springboard Diving Men | Peter Heatly (SCO) | 146.76 | Tony Turner (ENG) | 145.27 | Jack Stewart (NZL) | 144.98 |
10 Metres Highboard [Platform] Diving Men | Bill Patrick (CAN) | 142.7 | Kevin Newell (AUS) | 142.06 | Peter Heatly (SCO) | 141.32 |
3 Metres Springboard Diving Women | Ann Long (ENG) | 128.26 | Barbara McAulay (AUS) | 127.74 | Irene MacDonald (CAN) | 126.19 |
10 Metres Highboard [Platform] Diving Women | Barbara McAulay (AUS) | 86.55 | Eunice Miller (ENG) | 79.86 | Ann Long (ENG) | 79.53 |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bantamweight – Overall Men | Maurice Megennis (ENG) | 281 | Frank Cope (ENG) | 276.5 | Keith Caple (AUS) | 274 |
Featherweight – Overall Men | Rodney Wilkes (TRI) | 313 | Jules Sylvain (CAN) | 297 | Ron Jenkins (WAL) | 279 |
Lightweight – Overall Men | Vern Barberis (AUS) | 347 | George Nicholls (BAR) | 344.5 | Jan Pieterse (SAF) | 333 |
Middleweight – Overall Men | Jim Halliday (ENG) | 362.5 | Lionel de Freitas (TRI) | 342 | Julius Park (BGU) | 338 |
Light Heavyweight – Overall Men | Gerry Gratton (CAN) | 403.5 | Louis Greeff (SAF) | 367 | Tony George (NZL) | 353.5 |
Middle Heavyweight – Overall Men | Keevil Daly (CAN) | 399 | Lennox Kilgour (TRI) | 392 | Joseph Barnett (ENG) | 376.5 |
Heavyweight – Overall Men | Doug Hepburn (CAN) | 471.5 | Dave Baillie (CAN) | 453.5 | Harold Cleghorn (NZL) | 421.5 |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Flyweight Men | Louis Baise (SAF) | Fred Flannery (AUS) | Muhammad Din (PAK) |
Bantamweight Men | Geoff Jameson (AUS) | Muhammad Amin (PAK) | Ian Epton (NRH) |
Featherweight Men | Abraham Geldenhuys (SAF) | Herb Hall (ENG) | John Armitt (NZL) |
Lightweight Men | Godfrey Pienaar (SAF) | Ruby Leobovitch (CAN) | Dick Garrard (AUS) |
Welterweight Men | Nick Loubser (SAF) | Abdul Rashid (PAK) | Ray Myland (ENG) |
Middleweight Men | Hermanus van Zyl (SAF) | Jim Christie (CAN) | Harry Kendall (ENG) |
Light Heavyweight Men | Jacob Theron (SAF) | Bob Steckle (CAN) | Dan van Staden (NRH) |
Heavyweight Men | Ken Richmond (ENG) | Keith Maltman (CAN) |
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which mostly consists of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since. The event was called the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams since 2002, making the Commonwealth Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event. In 2018, the Games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of men's and women's medal events, and four years later they became the first global multi-sport event to have more events for women than men.
The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, was an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The event was to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, and Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London using a recycled part of the project, which lost the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics to Sydney, Australia. The 2002 Commonwealth Games was, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in terms of teams and athletes participating. The 2002 Commonwealth Games had the largest number of events of any Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
The 1930 British Empire Games was the inaugural edition of what now is known as the Commonwealth Games, and was held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930.
The 1934 British Empire Games was the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events were in Manchester. Seventeen national teams took part, including the Irish Free State.
The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary. Venues included the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Sydney Sports Ground, North Sydney Olympic Pool and Henson Park. An estimated 40,000 people attended the opening ceremony. A competitors' residential village was established within the grounds of the Sydney Showground.
The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary film of the games was made by the New Zealand National Film Unit. The main venue was Eden Park, although the closing ceremonies were held at Western Springs Stadium, see New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games. The fourth games were originally awarded to Montreal, Canada and were to be held in 1942 but were cancelled due to World War II.
Empire Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium that stood at the Pacific National Exhibition site at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Track and field and Canadian football, as well as soccer, rugby and musical events, were held at the stadium. The stadium was originally constructed for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. The stadium hosted both Elvis Presley and The Beatles. It saw most of its use as the home of the BC Lions of the CFL from 1954 to 1982, in which the venue also played host to the first Grey Cup game held west of Ontario in 1955. Empire Stadium also hosted the Grey Cup game in 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1971, and 1974; seven times in total.
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 to 26 July 1958. It was the sixth edition of what would come to be known as the Commonwealth Games, the second Games held in the United Kingdom, and the second held under the name British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
There have been a wide variety of sports in Vancouver since the city was founded. Team sports such as ice hockey, lacrosse, and Canadian football have extensive history in the area, while the city's relatively mild climate and geographical location facilitate a wide variety of other sports and recreational activities.
Kenneth ("Ken") Stanley David Wilmshurst was an Olympic athlete from England.
This is a timeline of the history of Vancouver.
At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the athletics events were held at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in July and August 1954. A total of 29 athletics events were contested at the Games, 20 by men and 9 by women. A total of twenty-four Games records were set or improved over the competition, leaving just five previous best marks untouched. The 1954 edition saw the introduction of the shot put and discus throw for women, as well as the first 4×110 yards relay for women.
Lorne Atkinson was a Canadian cyclist. He competed in four events at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Nicknamed "Ace", Atkinson spent his life involved in cycling in the Vancouver area.
Barbara Ethel McAulay Donnet was an Australian diver. She competed in the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
The men's 4 × 110 yards relay event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 7 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The women's 4 × 110 yards relay event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 7 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. It was the first time that this event was contested replacing the medley relay.
The men's 1 mile event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 6 and 7 August at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The men's marathon event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 7 August in Vancouver, Canada with a start and finish at the Empire Stadium.
The women's discus throw event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 7 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. It was the first time that women contested this event at the Games.
The women's shot put event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 1 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. It was the first time that the event was contested by women at the Games.
Preceded by Auckland | British Empire and Commonwealth Games Vancouver V British Empire and Commonwealth Games | Succeeded by Cardiff |