# Athletics at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games

At the 1970 British Commonwealth Games, the athletics events were held at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. A total of 36 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 13 by female athletes. This was the first athletics competition at the British Commonwealth Games to feature events in metric units, rather than imperial units. One world record and two Games records were broken at the competition.

## Medal summary
### Men

Men's track and road events :
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Event | Athlete | Time | Athlete | Time | Athlete | Time |
| 100 metres (wind: +3.6 m/s) details | Don Quarrie (JAM) | 10.24w | Lennox Miller (JAM) | 10.32w | Hasely Crawford (TRI) | 10.33w |
| 200 metres (wind: +1.7 m/s) details | Don Quarrie (JAM) | 20.56 | Edwin Roberts (TRI) | 20.69 | Charles Asati (KEN) | 20.74 |
| 400 metres details | Charles Asati (KEN) | 45.01 | Ross Wilson (AUS) | 45.61 | Saimoni Tamani (FIJ) | 45.82 |
| 800 metres details | Robert Ouko (KEN) | 1:46.89 | Ben Cayenne (TRI) | 1:47.42 | William Smart (CAN) | 1:47.43 |
| 1500 metres details | Kip Keino (KEN) | 3:36.68 | Dick Quax (NZL) | 3:38.19 | Brendan Foster (ENG) | 3:40.63 |
| 5000 metres details | Ian Stewart (SCO) | 13:22.85 | Ian McCafferty (SCO) | 13:23.34 | Kip Keino (KEN) | 13:27.6 |
| 10,000 metres details | Lachie Stewart (SCO) | 28:11.72 | Ron Clarke (AUS) | 28:13.45 | Dick Taylor (ENG) | 28:15.35 |
| Marathon details | Ron Hill (ENG) | 2:09:28 | Jim Alder (SCO) | 2:12:04 | Don Faircloth (ENG) | 2:12:19 |
| 110 metres hurdles (wind: +2.9 m/s) details | David Hemery (ENG) | 13.66w | Mal Baird (AUS) | 13.86w | Godfrey Murray (JAM) | 14.02w |
| 400 metres hurdles details | John Sherwood (ENG) | 50.03 | William Koskei (UGA) | 50.15 | Charles Kipkemboi Yego (KEN) | 50.19 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase details | Tony Manning (AUS) | 8:26.2 | Ben Jipcho (KEN) | 8:29.6 | Amos Biwott (KEN) | 8:30.8 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | Jamaica Errol Stewart Lennox Miller Carl Lawson Don Quarrie | 39.46 | Ghana Michael Ahey James Addy Edward Owusu George Daniels | 39.82 | England Ian Green Martin Reynolds Dave Dear Brian Green | 40.05 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay details | Kenya Munyoro Nyamau Julius Sang Robert Ouko Charles Asati | 3:03.63 | Trinidad and Tobago Mel Wong Shing Ben Cayenne Kent Bernard Edwin Roberts | 3:05.49 | England Martin Bilham Len Walters Mike Hauck John Sherwood | 3:05.53 |
| 20 miles walk details | Noel Freeman (AUS) | 2:33:33 GR | Bob Gardiner (AUS) | 2:35:55 | Bill Sutherland (SCO) | 2:37:24 |
Men's field events :
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Event | Athlete | Height / Distance | Athlete | Height / Distance | Athlete | Height / Distance |
| High jump details | Lawrie Peckham (AUS) | 2.14 m | John Hawkins (CAN) | 2.12 m | Sheikh Faye (GAM) | 2.10 m |
| Pole vault details | Mike Bull (NIR) | 5.10 m | Alan Kane (CAN) | 4.90 m | Robert Raftis (CAN) | 4.90 m |
| Long jump details | Lynn Davies (WAL) | 8.06 m (w) | Phil May (AUS) | 7.94 m (w) | Alan Lerwill (ENG) | 7.94 m (w) |
| Triple jump details | Phil May (AUS) | 16.72 m | Mick McGrath (AUS) | 16.41 m | Mohinder Singh Gill (IND) | 15.90 m |
| Shot put details | Dave Steen (CAN) | 19.21 m | Jeff Teale (ENG) | 18.43 m | Les Mills (NZL) | 18.40 m |
| Discus throw details | George Puce (CAN) | 59.02 m | Les Mills (NZL) | 57.84 m | Bill Tancred (ENG) | 56.68 m |
| Hammer throw details | Howard Payne (ENG) | 67.80 m | Bruce Fraser (ENG) | 62.90 m | Barry Williams (ENG) | 61.58 m |
| Javelin throw details | Dave Travis (ENG) | 79.50 m | John McSorley (ENG) | 76.74 m | John FitzSimons (ENG) | 73.20 m |
Men's mixed events :
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Event | Athlete | Points | Athlete | Points | Athlete | Points |
| Decathlon details | Geoff Smith (AUS) | 7492 | Peter Gabbett (ENG) | 7469 | Barry King (ENG) | 7201 |

### Women

Women's track events :
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Event | Athlete | Time | Athlete | Time | Athlete | Time |
| 100 metres (wind: +5.3 m/s) details | Raelene Boyle (AUS) | 11.26w | Alice Anum (GHA) | 11.32w | Marion Hoffman (AUS) | 11.36w |
| 200 metres (wind: +4.0 m/s) details | Raelene Boyle (AUS) | 22.75w | Alice Anum (GHA) | 22.86w | Margaret Critchley (ENG) | 23.16w |
| 400 metres details | Marilyn Neufville (JAM) | 51.02 WR | Sandra Brown (AUS) | 53.66 | Judith Ayaa (UGA) | 53.77 |
| 800 metres details | Rosemary Stirling (SCO) | 2:06.24 | Pat Lowe (ENG) | 2:06.27 | Cheryl Peasley (AUS) | 2:06.33 |
| 1500 metres details | Rita Ridley (ENG) | 4:18.8 | Joan Page (ENG) | 4:19.0 | Thelma Fynn (CAN) | 4:19.1 |
| 100 metres hurdles (wind: -0.3 m/s) details | Pam Kilborn (AUS) | 13.27 | Maureen Caird (AUS) | 13.73 | Christine Bell (ENG) | 13.82 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay details | Australia Jennifer Lamy Pam Kilborn Marion Hoffman Raelene Boyle | 44.14 | England Anita Neil Margaret Critchley Madeleine Cobb Val Peat | 44.28 | Canada Joan Hendry Joyce Sadowick Patty Loverock Stephanie Berto | 44.68 |
Women's field events :
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Event | Athlete | Height / Distance | Athlete | Height / Distance | Athlete | Height / Distance |
| High jump details | Debbie Brill (CAN) | 1.78 m | Ann Wilson (ENG) | 1.70 m | Moira Walls (SCO) | 1.70 m |
| Long jump details | Sheila Sherwood (ENG) | 6.73 m | Ann Wilson (ENG) | 6.50 m | Joan Hendry (CAN) | 6.28 m |
| Shot put details | Mary Peters (NIR) | 15.93 m | Barbara Poulsen (NZL) | 15.87 m | Jean Roberts (AUS) | 15.32 m |
| Discus throw details | Rosemary Payne (SCO) | 54.46 m | Jean Roberts (AUS) | 51.02 m | Carol Martin (CAN) | 48.42 m |
| Javelin throw details | Petra Rivers (AUS) | 52.00 m | Anne Farquhar (ENG) | 50.82 m | Jay Dahlgren (CAN) | 49.54 m |
Women's mixed events :
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Event | Athlete | Points | Athlete | Points | Athlete | Points |
| Pentathlon details | Mary Peters (NIR) | 5148 GR | Ann Wilson (ENG) | 5037 | Jenny Meldrum (CAN) | 4736 |

## Medal table

* Host nation (Scotland)
Medal table, by nation :
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Australia (AUS) | 10 | 9 | 3 | 22 |
| 2 | England (ENG) | 7 | 11 | 12 | 30 |
| 3 | Scotland (SCO)* | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 | Kenya (KEN) | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 | Jamaica (JAM) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Canada (CAN) | 3 | 2 | 8 | 13 |
| 7 | Northern Ireland (NIR) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Wales (WAL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Ghana (GHA) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Uganda (UGA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | Fiji (FIJ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Gambia (GAM) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | India (IND) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (15 entries) | Totals (15 entries) | 36 | 36 | 36 | 108 |

## Participating nations

* Antigua and Barbuda (7)
* Australia (33)
* Bahamas (12)
* Bermuda (2)
* Canada (59)
* Ceylon (1)
* England (92)
* Fiji (1)
* Gambia (6)
* Ghana (12)
* Gibraltar (7)
* Grenada (2)
* Guernsey (5)
* Guyana (2)
* India (9)
* Isle of Man (4)
* Jamaica (22)
* Kenya (18)
* Malawi (7)
* Mauritius (7)
* New Zealand (20)
* Nigeria (21)
* Northern Ireland (19)
* Pakistan (9)
* Saint Lucia (1)
* Scotland (55)
* Sierra Leone (5)
* Singapore (4)
* Swaziland (5)
* Tanzania (8)
* Trinidad and Tobago (12)
* Uganda (15)
* Wales (41)
* Zambia (11)