Commonwealth Games

Events > Commonwealth Games > Hosts > Christchurch 1974

Christchurch New Zealand, 1974

Trivia

• The Games were held between 24 January – 2 February, 1974

• Following the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the tenth Commonwealth Games at Christchurch was the first multi-sport event to place the safety of participants and spectators as its uppermost requirement. Security guards surrounded the athlete’s village and there was an exceptionally high-profile police presence. Even so, Christchurch enchanted the watching world as a city of beautiful churches and gardens.

• On the running track, Jamaica’s Don Quarrie successfully defended both his 1970 100m and 200m gold medals. Quarrie was to go on to win the 100m in 1978 as well.

Sports

• Nine sports were featured in the Christchurch Games – athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, lawn bowls, shooting, swimming and diving, weightlifting and wrestling.

Medal Count

• Only 22 countries succeeded in winning medals from the total haul of 374 medals on offer, but first time winners included Western Samoa, Lesotho, Swaziland, St Vincent and the Grenadines

• The following list includes the first four ranked teams. The ranking list for all years is available here.
  

Related Pages

• List of Commonweath Games Host Cities