Canada and the Commonwealth Games

Canada boasts a rich history at the Commonwealth Games, from organizing the first full-scale sporting event for nations of the old British Empire, to staging one of the most famous foot races in history, to hosting a record-breaking performance by a homegrown swimmer.

Here are some of the highlights:

All you need is $30,000 and a dream

The event we know today as the Commonwealth Games was the work of a Canadian. Bobby Robinson, a Hamilton sports reporter who moonlighted as a track and field official, returned from the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam determined to organize a similar competition for the entities of the British Commonwealth. It wasn't very hard. The idea had been floating around for decades, and once the City of Hamilton agreed to kick in $30,000 (roughly $380,000 in today's money) to cover travel expenses for the 400 athletes coming from 11 countries, the first-ever British Empire Games were set for August 1930 in southern Ontario.

Hamilton built a new venue for the occasion. Civic Stadium (since renamed Ivor Wynne Stadium) was the epicentre of the Games, hosting the opening ceremony and many of the events. A makeshift "athletes village" was set up next door at Prince of Wales School, where competitors slept up to two dozen to a classroom.

Six sports made up the program: athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, diving, wrestling and swimming — the latter the only contest open to women.

Canada's Percy Williams won the 100-yard dash in 9.9 seconds — more than three-tenths of a second slower than Usain Bolt's current world-record time in the 100 metres, a longer distance.

Among the 11 countries participating was what was then called Newfoundland, at the time a self-governing British Dominion. After going medal-less in 1930 or 1934, Newfoundland decided to foresake its independent status to compete as part of Team Canada starting in 1938.

England topped the standings with 60 medals and 25 gold, with Canada right behind at 54 medals and 20 gold.

The Commonwealth Games nearly returned to Hamilton for 2010, but the inaugural host city lost out in the bidding process to New Delhi, India.

Perfect attendance

Since their inception in 1930, the Games have been held every four years, except for 1942 and 1946 during World War II. Canada is one of six countries with an 18-for-18 attendance record, along with England, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.

Hosts with the most

Canada has hosted the Games a record-tying four times, under three different names. After Hamilton welcomed the 1930 British Empire Games, Vancouver staged the 1954 edition under its new name, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. The moniker was shortened to the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 1978, when Edmonton hosted, and Victoria held the event in 1994.

Only Australia has hosted as many times as Canada. New Zealand is second with three Games, followed by England and Scotland with two apiece.

'Miracle' in Vancouver

The 1954 Vancouver Games are remembered for the famed "Miracle Mile" race at Empire Stadium.

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 3:58.8, with Landy close behind in 3:59.6. Though the Aussie's record of 3:57.9 survived, it was the first time two runners broke the four-minute barrier in the same race.

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.

We're No. 3

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 1978 — and finished as the runner-up four times — most recently in Victoria in 1994.

Canada's largest medal haul came in Victoria, where the home team captured 129 medals, including 40 gold. However, that was good for only second place, as Australia topped the table with 182 medals (87 gold).

Canada's worst finish? An 11th-place showing in 1966 in Kingston, Jamaica.

At the most recent Games — in 2006 in Melbourne — the Canadian team won 86 medals, including 26 gold. Australia finished first for a record 11th time with 221 medals (84 gold), while England was the runner-up for the third time in a row with 110 medals (36 gold).

In the all-time medal standings, Australia leads with 1,905, followed by England (1,694) and Canada (1,316).

Hometown hero

Propelled by the home-crowd advantage in Edmonton in 1978, Canada won a Games-best 109 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. Smith won the 100-metre and 200-m breaststroke, 200-m and 400-m individual medleys, and was part of the Canadian 4x100 freestyle and medley relay teams that won gold.

Smith's haul of six gold medals was later matched by a pair of Australian swimmers — Susie O'Neill (in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur) and Ian Thorpe (2002 in Manchester). At the 2006 Games in Melbourne, rhythmic gymnast Alexandra Orlando of Toronto grabbed a share of Smith's single-Games Canadian record by sweeping all six of her sport's events.