1986 Commonwealth Games: Clash of the Rivals

The 1986 Commonwealth Games may have been hit by a widespread boycott - for more information on this see my blog last week - but at least there were still a couple of rivalries that were able to flourish during the championships. Coe, Ovett and Cram were kept apart for various reasons (illness in Coe's case, and Ovett running the 5000 metres didn't help either), yet in the field two British women were able to go head-to-head once more, and the pool would see the renewal of a battle that had begun at Brisbane in 1982.

This week I am taking a look back at the Moorhouse-Davis rivalry in the pool, and the Sanderson-Whitbread clash in the javelin at Edinburgh 1986. Duels that would see a few upsets along the way, and the beginning of an unlikely beautiful friendship.

1986 Commonwealth Games: The Boycott Games

If I am being honest, I had not heard anything about the Commonwealth Games before the 1986 event approached. But what an introduction I was in for. All of a sudden, the Edinburgh Games were making headlines for unwanted reasons, dominating the front pages of the newspapers and lead stories on the news, and this was even before a starting pistol had been fired.

This week I am going to look back on the turmoil surrounding the 1986 Commonwealth Games, as sport and politics collided and left a sorry state behind.