Canada and commonwealth games

Only Australia has hosted as many times as Canada. New Zealand is second with three Games, followed by England and Scotland with two apiece. Three months after becoming the first person in history to run the mile in under four minutes, English medical student Roger Bannister went toe-to-toe with John Landy of Australia, who had since eclipsed the record.

When the gun went off in the showdown between the only two sub-four-minute milers on the planet, Landy opened up a sizable lead. But Bannister dug deep for a finishing kick and chased down his rival on the final corner.

Just as Landy glanced over his inside shoulder to check on Bannister's progress, the Englishman zipped past on the outside to win the race. Bannister crossed the line in Though the Aussie's record of Landy's fateful look back at the surging Bannister was later immortalized in a statue outside the stadium. You can watch the full race at CBC Archives. Canada's typical finish in the overall medal standings is third, a placing it has achieved eight times in 18 editions of the Commonwealth Games, including each of the last three.

Canada topped the medal table only once — in Edmonton in — and finished as the runner-up four times — most recently in Victoria in Canada's largest medal haul came in Victoria, where the home team captured medals, including 40 gold. However, that was good for only second place, as Australia topped the table with medals 87 gold. At the most recent Games — in in Melbourne — the Canadian team won 86 medals, including 26 gold. Australia finished first for a record 11th time with medals 84 gold , while England was the runner-up for the third time in a row with medals 36 gold.

In the all-time medal standings, Australia leads with 1,, followed by England 1, and Canada 1, Propelled by the home-crowd advantage in Edmonton in , Canada won a Games-best medals, including 45 gold. Leading the charge was hometown hero Graham Smith. The Edmonton swimmer racked up six gold medals — a record at the time for a single Commonwealth Games. At the Games, Canada finished with 99 medals 30 gold, 31 silver and 38 bronze behind Australia's and England's Host Malaysia, which provided superb facilities and hospitality in the steamy September heat, had 36 medals for fourth place.

Among notable Canadian performances were Erika-Leigh Stirton, with 5 gold and one silver medal in rhythmic gymnastics; swimmers Mark Versfeld and Joanne Malar, with 2 gold and a bronze and one gold, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes respectively; weightlifter Akos Sandor, 3 gold; shooter Sharon Bowes, whose 2 golds and 2 silvers gave her 10 medals over 3 Games; and year-old Alexandre DESPATIE , winner of the platform diving competition with a record score, the youngest medal winner in the Games' history.

In at Manchester, England, Canada's Alexandre Despatie captured an additional 2 gold medals in diving and Claire Carver-Dias won gold in synchronized swimming. Sports for the disabled were also fully integrated in ; some exhibition events for the disabled had been included in the Games, but had been dropped in In at Melbourne, Australia, Canadians won a total of 86 medals 26 gold, 29 silver and 31 bronze , placing Canada 3rd in the overall medal count behind the US and Australia.

For the first time basketball was in the team sports repertoire. Over athletes from 71 countries competed, including Canadians. Canada placed fourth in overall standings, behind Australia, India and England, amassing a total of 76 medals 26 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze. Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie achieved a personal best in diving, and in so doing he became Canada's most-decorated Commonwealth Games athlete, winning a total of nine gold and two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, including three gold medals in New Delhi.

The last time the games were held in Canada was in at Victoria, where 66 Commonwealth nations participated. That year disabled athletes joined the Commonwealth Games for the first time.

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