Commonwealth Games: Going for gold

By CHRIS RATTUE at the Games

It's bigger, but whether it's better remains to be seen.

New Zealand's largest Commonwealth Games team - just - are in Manchester with expectations of a reasonable if not spectacular medal haul.

The expansion in the number of Games sports has played into New Zealand's hands, especially in the gold-medal stakes.

Our swimming might have taken a dive and our runners have stopped on the tracks, but we're not bad at rugby sevens, netball and triathlons. What a pity there's no sailing.

It has cost the New Zealand Olympic Committee $4 million - raised entirely through sponsorship - to send more than 200 athletes and 100 support staff to the northern English city that is famous for a football team, the Posh and Becks show, and little else.

The number of competitors is similar to that sent to Kuala Lumpur in 1998, but there are more support people going this time.

The Games have grown like mad since Auckland hosted them in 1990. New Zealand had nearly 50 fewer competitors then compared to this year's team. The number of sports has risen from 10 to 17.

However, they could be in for a bit of a chop from 2006. There will be 18 sports at Melbourne in four years, then the bidders for the following Games can run as few as 10. Only the core Commonwealth sports of swimming, netball, rugby, bowls and track and field are guaranteed.

For some athletes, the road towards Commonwealth Games medals is coming to an end.

So what are New Zealand's prospects at Manchester?

The big day could be the last, when the highly rated rugby, netball, triathlon and squash teams will be in action.

The event with special significance comes on day seven, when Craig Barrett, who made a famous and heartbreaking exit when headed for gold at Kuala Lumpur, will hope to stay upright in the 50km road walk.

Barrett's wobbly departure was a sight as famous as Dick Tayler's first-day jubilation in the 10,000m at Christchurch in 1974, or the world-record 1500m battle between Filbert Bayi and John Walker nine days later which closed one of the great sports meetings.

Athletics, though, is no longer a Kiwi strong point. At Manchester, the cycling team, led by the brilliant Sarah Ulmer, look primed for a medal haul, but for many other sports the prospects are less certain.

Unlike the Olympics and some world championships, most in the New Zealand team will feel they have realistic medal chances.

The Commonwealth Games have lost some lustre in a world choked with major competitions. But the Games' quaint nature and accessibility to ordinary citizens who are also competitors also gives them a special shine.

Olympic 1500m bronze medallist John Davies, the head of the NZOC, competed at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth and remembers coming face-to-face with superstars who until then had been names in the paper.

Davies says: "The Commonwealth Games still have that friendly spirit.

"The Olympics are full of rumour and gossip about who is doing what performance-wise, but at the Commonwealth Games you see athletes sitting around together chatting. Everyone speaks English, which also helps.

"The big thing for the New Zealand athletes is they lift their performance because they feel they have a chance.

"It's a great experience for people to be involved in a multi-sport competition.

"Athletes, coaches and managers can all learn something from other sports, which has great spinoffs.

"There is a lot of cynicism in the world of professional sports ... the Commonwealth Games are still in the amateur tradition and give an opportunity to people who would not normally compete at this level."

So these are the games for the builder, the baker, the candlestick maker, as well as professional athletes.

Unlike the cocky Australians, who have set a target of 211 medals, including 79 gold, New Zealand do not have a tally in mind.

They won't match the 58, including 17 gold, won in Auckland.

They might do better than the 34 won at Kuala Lumpur four years ago, but it could be tough, especially as England will be hunting glory on home soil in the Queen's Jubilee year.

But whatever the medal count, we can still revel in the sight of "ordinary New Zealanders" having their place in the sun and at the same time remember some of our great athletes of the past.

Full coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/manchester2002

Commonwealth Games info and related links