The Commonwealth Games are among the most prestigious and exciting events in the entire British Empire, with Commonwealth nations of all shapes and sizes coming together to compete for a gold medal in a whole host of different sports. John Oliver described them best when he said… “Well, imagine the Olympics without the United States, China and Russia. Then, imagine a track meet dominated by strangers from Wales… and you have the Commonwealth Games.”
Now, as people across the globe – or at least the Commonwealth – are glued to the events unfolding in Glasgow, let’s take a closer look at some weird and wonderful facts about the Commonwealth Games.
1. The games’ last security guards would bite if you got too close!
Most of us have witnessed an encounter with a heavy handed bouncer outside a night club on a Friday night, but very few of us have witnessed any biting. When the Commonwealth Games came to India’s capital in 2010, the event saw monkeys working as guards.
The sacred Hanuman langurs are vegetarians and therefore posed no real threat, but it certainly proved to be a unique take on security at a top-tier sporting event.
2. Gold medals aren’t just for show
Winning a gold medal is pretty overwhelming in its own right, but for one Nauruan weightlifter a Commonwealth victory led to even greater things. After bagging twelve medals at the games – seven of them gold – Nauru decided to award Marcus Stephen the presidency.
As if that wasn’t enough, Steven now sits at 19th in the Commonwealth’s all time medal winners’ list. That’s a pretty sweat deal if you ask me.
3. The All Blacks are all gold
The New Zealand rugby team has been feared all over the world for some time, and their Commonwealth Games track record tells us why.
The All Blacks remain undefeated in the Commonwealth’s Rugby Sevens tournament, taking every gold medal available since the 1998 games.
4. Bolt has another chance to beat the World record
The Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has become an athletic legend in recent years by smashing the 100m world records. Bolt has the opportunity to add to the list of stunning achievements this year as he takes to the track once again.
As if that’s wasn’t a good enough reason to visit to Games this year, there’s also the chance for visitors to go up against Usain himself in the Race Bolt challenge on Glasgow Green.
5. The games see 53 nations compete
The Commonwealth isn’t something many of us know a great deal about, but the games are a great opportunity to learn. A total of 53 nations are competing this year, 16 of which have the Queen as their head of state. And you just thought she was an archaic figure-head!
You can find more Glasgow Commonwealth Games facts from Virgin Media’s 10 fun facts infographic. After that, leave me a comment as I would love to hear what you think of the games.
