# 1986 Commonwealth Games

The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. This event served as a qualifying event for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul for the events that was contested at the Olympic Games. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbean states) boycotted the event because of the Thatcher government's policy of keeping Britain's sporting links with apartheid South Africa.
The Games were commemorated on the UK’s first-ever £2 circulating coin, which showed a Scottish thistle upon the St. Andrew’s saltire design on the reverse side of the coin.

## Organisation

Unlike the 1970 Games in Edinburgh, which were popular and successful, the 1986 Games are ill-famed for the wide political boycott connected with them and the resulting financial mismanagement.

## Controversies

In addition to the boycott, further controversy arose when it was revealed that through this much-reduced participation and the resultant decline in anticipated broadcasting and sponsorship revenues, the Organising Committee was facing a big financial black hole. The boycott ended any prospect of securing emergency government assistance. Businessman Robert Maxwell stepped in to offer funding, taking over as chairman; but although he promised to invest £2m, his contribution was just £250,000. On a budget of £14m, the Games opened with a deficit of £3m, which later grew to £4.3m, and instead of putting enough money into the event to save it, the new chairman of the Games asked creditors to forgo half the payment due to them to keep the event out of liquidation. The debt was finally paid off in 1989, with the city of Edinburgh losing approximately £500,000.
Several athletes were excluded because they breached the amateurism rules, most notably lawn bowlers Phil Skoglund from New Zealand and Willie Wood from Scotland, both of whom have competed in subsequent Games.

## Participating teams

Due to the boycott only 27 teams from across the Commonwealth were represented at the 1986 Games.
* Participating Commonwealth countries and territories
* Australia
* Bermuda
* Botswana
* Canada
* Cayman Islands
* Cook Islands
* England
* Falkland Islands
* Fiji
* Gibraltar
* Guernsey
* Hong Kong
* Isle of Man
* Jersey
* Lesotho
* Malawi
* Maldives
* Malta
* New Zealand
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland (host)
* Singapore
* Swaziland
* Vanuatu
* Wales
* Western Samoa
* ^ Note: Bermuda withdrew from the games to join the boycott after the opening day of competition.
* Debuting Commonwealth countries and territories
* Norfolk Island
* Maldives

## Boycott

Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbean states) boycotted the event because of the Thatcher government's policy of keeping Britain's sporting links with apartheid South Africa in preference to participating in the general sporting boycott of that country and the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Consequently, Edinburgh 1986 witnessed the lowest turnout since Auckland 1950. Bermuda was a particularly late withdrawal, as its athletes had appeared in the opening ceremony and in the opening day of competition before the Bermuda Olympic Association decided to formally withdraw.
* Commonwealth countries and territories that boycotted the Games
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Barbados
* Bahamas
* Bangladesh
* Bermuda
* Belize
* Cyprus
* Dominica
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guyana
* Grenada
* India
* Jamaica
* Kenya
* Mauritius
* Malaysia
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Papua New Guinea
* St. Kitts and Nevis
* St. Lucia
* St. Vincent and the Grenadines
* Solomon Islands
* Sierra Leone
* Sri Lanka
* Tanzania
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

## Opening ceremony

The theme of the opening ceremony celebrated the "Spirit of Youth" and included 6500 Scottish schoolchildren taking part in a series of large Mass Games-style Gymnastics routines. The theme song "Spirit of Youth" was written by Gerard Kenny. The ceremony began on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle from which hundreds of schoolchildren ran down the Royal Mile, through Holyrood Park to Meadowbank Stadium.

## Venues

* Balgreen, (Bowls)
* Barry Buddon (Shooting)
* Ingliston Centre (Boxing)
* Meadowbank Stadium (Badminton)
* Playhouse Theatre (Wrestling and weightlifting)
* Royal Commonwealth Pool (Aquatics)
* Strathclyde Park, Glasgow (Rowing)

## Medals by country

* Host nation (Scotland)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | England (ENG) | 52 | 43 | 49 | 144 |
| 2 | Canada (CAN) | 51 | 34 | 30 | 115 |
| 3 | Australia (AUS) | 40 | 46 | 35 | 121 |
| 4 | New Zealand (NZL) | 8 | 16 | 14 | 38 |
| 5 | Wales (WAL) | 6 | 5 | 12 | 23 |
| 6 | Scotland (SCO)* | 3 | 12 | 18 | 33 |
| 7 | Northern Ireland (NIR) | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
| 8 | Isle of Man (IOM) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Guernsey (GUE) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Eswatini (SWZ) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Hong Kong (HKG) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Malawi (MAW) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | Botswana (BOT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Jersey (JEY) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Singapore (SIN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (15 entries) | Totals (15 entries) | 163 | 163 | 175 | 501 |

## Medals by event
### Boxing

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Light Flyweight | Scott Olson (CAN) | Mark Epton (ENG) | Johnston Todd (NIR) Wilson Docherty (SCO) |
| Flyweight | John Lyon (ENG) | Leonard Makhanya (SWZ) | Kerry Webber (WAL) Steve Beaupré (CAN) |
| Bantamweight | Sean Murphy (ENG) | Roy Nash (NIR) | Glen Brooks (SCO) John Sollitoe (JER) |
| Featherweight | Billy Downey (CAN) | Peter English (ENG) | Chris Carleton (NIR) Johnny Wallace (NZL) |
| Lightweight | Asif Dar (CAN) | Neil Haddock (WAL) | Lyton Mphande (MAW) Joey Jacobs (ENG) |
| Light Welterweight | Howard Grant (CAN) | David Clencie (AUS) | Brendan Lowe (NIR) Solomon Kondowe (MAW) |
| Welterweight | Darren Dyer (ENG) | James McAllister (SCO) | John Shaw (CAN) Damien Denny (NIR) |
| Light Middleweight | Dan Sherry (CAN) | Rick Finch (AUS) | Glynn Thomas (WAL) Alec Mullen (SCO) |
| Middleweight | Rod Douglas (ENG) | Jeff Harding (AUS) | Patrick Tinney (NIR) George Ferrie (SCO) |
| Light Heavyweight | Jim Moran (ENG) | Harry Lawson (SCO) | Brent Kosolofski (CAN) |
| Heavyweight | Jimmy Thunder (NZL) | Doug Young (SCO) | Dominic D'Amico (CAN) Eric Cardouza (ENG) |
| Super Heavyweight | Lennox Lewis (CAN) | Aneurin Evans (WAL) | James Oyebola (ENG) |

### Cycling

Track
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Men |||||||
| Time Trial | Martin Vinnicombe (AUS) | 00:01:06 | Gary Anderson (NZL) | 00:01:06 | Max Rainsford (AUS) | 00:01:07 |
| Sprint | Gary Neiwand (AUS) | | Alex Ongaro (CAN) | | Eddie Alexander (SCO) | |
| Individual Pursuit | Dean Woods (AUS) | 00:04:44 | Colin Sturgess (ENG) | 00:04:51 | Gary Anderson (NZL) | 00:04:54 |
| Team Pursuit | Australia Glenn Clarke Brett Dutton Bill Hardy Wayne McCarney Dean Woods | 00:04:27 | New Zealand Gary Anderson Russell Clune Stephen Swart Andrew Whitford | 00:04:34 | England Chris Boardman Gary Coltman Rob Muzio Jon Walshaw Guy Rowland | overtaken |
| 10 Miles (16 Kilometres) Scratch | Wayne McCarney (AUS) | 00:19:41 | Dean Woods (AUS) | 00:19:41 | Gary Anderson (NZL) | 00:19:41 |
Road
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Men |||||||
| Road Race | Paul Curran (ENG) | 04:08:50 | Brian Fowler (NZL) | 04:08:50 | Jeff Leslie (AUS) | 04:08:50 |
| Team Time Trial | England Alan Gornall Deno Davie Keith Reynolds Paul Curran | 02:13:16 | New Zealand Blair Cox Graeme Miller Greg Fraine Paul Leitch | 02:14:50 | Northern Ireland Alastair Irvine Cormac McCann Joseph Barr Martin Quinn | 02:16:13 |

### Rowing

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Men |||||||
| Single sculls | England Steve Redgrave | 7:28 | Australia Richard Powell | 7:33 | New Zealand Eric Verdonk | 7:39 |
| Double sculls | Canada Bruce Ford Pat Walter | 6:19 | Australia Paul Reedy Brenton Terrell | 6:21 | England Carl Smith Allan Whitwell | 6:34 |
| Coxless pair | England Andy Holmes Steve Redgrave | 6:40 | New Zealand Barrie Mabbott Ian Wright | 6:43 | Scotland Ewan Pearson David Riches | 6:43 |
| Coxless four | Canada Grant Main Kevin Neufeld Paul Steele Pat Turner | 6:01 | New Zealand Andrew Stevenson Shane O'Brien Neil Gibson Don Symon | 6:01 | England Graham Faultless Richard Ireland Mostyn Field Humphry Hatton | 6:06 |
| Coxed four | England Martin Cross Adam Clift Andy Holmes Steve Redgrave Adrian Ellison | 6:08 | New Zealand Nigel Atherfold Chris White Greg Johnston Bruce Holden Andrew Bird | 6:10 | Australia Mark Doyle James Galloway Mike McKay James Tomkins Dale Caterson | 6:11 |
| Eights | Australia James Galloway Malcolm Batten Andrew Cooper Mike McKay Mark Doyle James Tomkins Ion Popa Steve Evans Dale Caterson | 5:44 | England John Garrett John Maxey Jonathan Spencer-Jones Mark Buckingham Patrick Broughton Richard Stanhope Stephen Peel Terence Dillon Vaughan Thomas | 5:46 | New Zealand Mike Burrell Neil Gibson Barrie Mabbott Shane O'Brien Andrew Stevenson Don Symon Carl Vincent Ian Wright Andy Hay (cox) | 5:48 |
| Lightweight single sculls | Australia Peter Antonie | 7:16 | Canada Peter Tattersall | 7:27 | England Carl Smith | 7:27 |
| Lightweight coxless four | England Christopher Bates Peter Haining Neil Staite Stuart Forbes | 6:26 | Australia Simon Cook Brian Digby Merrick Howes Joseph Joyce | 6:28 | Canada Dave Henry Brian Peaker Bob Thomas Ryan Tierney | 6:36 |
| Women |||||||
| Single sculls | New Zealand Stephanie Foster | 7:43 | Canada Lisa Wright | 7:49 | England Gillian Bond | 7:53 |
| Double sculls | New Zealand Stephanie Foster Robin Clarke | 7:22 | Canada Heather Clarke Lisa Robertson | 7:49 | England Diane Prince Claire Parker | 7:55 |
| Coxless pair | Canada Kathryn Barr Andrea Schreiner | 7:35 | England Pauline Bird Flo Johnston | 7:42 | Australia Catherine Hall Alison Smith | 7:53 |
| Coxed four | Canada Tina Clarke Tricia Smith Lesley Thompson Jane Tregunno Jenny Wallinga | 6:50 | Australia Deborah Bassett Susan Chapman-Popa Robyn Grey-Gardner Marilyn Kidd Kaylynn Fry | 6:54 | England Joanne Gough Ann Callaway Kate Holroyd Trish Reid Alison Norrish | 7:06 |
| Eights | Australia Annelies Voorthuis Deborah Bassett Vicki Spooner Margot Foster Marilyn Kidd Robyn Grey-Gardner Susan Chapman Urszula Anne Kay Kaylynn Fry | 6:44 | England Pauline Bird Alison Bonner Ann Callaway Kate Grose Joanne Gough Kate Holroyd Flo Johnston Alison Norrish Trish Reid | 6:46 | Bronze medal not awarded | |
| Lightweight single sculls | Australia Adair Ferguson | 7:45 | New Zealand Philippa Baker | 7:46 | Canada Heather Hattin | 7:52 |
| Lightweight coxless four | England Alexa Forbes Gillian Hodges Lin Clark Judith Burne | 6:55 | Australia Deborah Clingeleffer Amanda Cross Virginia Lee Gayle Toogood | 7:00 | Canada Anne Drost Marni Hamilton Marlene van der Horst Wendy Wiebe | 7:01 |

### Shooting

Pistol
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Men/Open |||||||
| 50m Free Pistol | Greg Yelavich (NZL) | 551 | Phil Adams (AUS) Ho Kar Fai (HKG) | 549 | | |
| 50m Free Pistol – Pairs | Canada Tom Guinn Claude Beaulieu | 1099 | England Paul Leatherdale Richard Wang | 1090 | Australia Phil Adams Bengt Sandström | 1085 |
| 25m Centre-Fire Pistol | Bob Northover (ENG) | 583 | Phil Adams (AUS) | 582 | Rod Hack (AUS) | 580 |
| 25m Centre-Fire Pistol – Pairs | Australia Phil Adams Rod Hack | 1165 | England Bob Northover Michael Cutler | 1157 | New Zealand Rex Hamilton Barry O'Neale | 1153 |
| 25m Rapid-Fire Pistol | Pat Murray (AUS) | 591 | Adrian Breton (GGY) | 588 | Mark Howkins (CAN) | 585 |
| 25m Rapid-Fire Pistol – Pairs | England Brian Girling Terry Turner | 1169 | Australia Pat Murray Jack Mast | 1152 | Canada Mark Howkins André Chevrefils | 1150 |
| 10m Air Pistol | Greg Yelavich (NZL) | 575 | Tom Guinn (CAN) | 574 | Gilbert U (HKG) | 574 |
| 10m Air Pistol – Pairs | England Paul Leatherdale Ian Reid | 1143 | Australia Phil Adams Bruce Favell | 1143 | New Zealand Greg Yelavich Barrie Wickins | 1140 |
Rifle
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Men/Open |||||||
| 50m Rifle Prone | Alan Smith (AUS) | 599 | Alister Allan (SCO) | 598 | John Knowles (SCO) | 597 |
| 50m Rifle Prone – Pairs | Canada Michael Ashcroft Gale Stewart | 1175 | Australia Donald Brook Alan Smith | 1171 | Wales Terry Wakefield Colin Harris | 1165 |
| 50m Rifle Three Positions | Malcolm Cooper (ENG) | 1170 | Alister Allan (SCO) | 1167 | Jean-François Sénécal (CAN) | 1150 |
| 50m Rifle Three Positions – Pairs | England Malcolm Cooper Sarah Cooper | 2278 | Canada Jean-François Sénécal Michael Dion | 2276 | Scotland Alister Allan Bill MacNeill | 2241 |
| Full Bore Rifle | Stan Golinski (AUS) | 396 | Alain Marion (CAN) | 396 | John Bloomfield (ENG) | 395 |
| Full Bore Rifle – Pairs | Canada Bill Baldwin Alain Marion | 583 | Australia James Corbett Stan Golinski | 583 | Northern Ireland David Calvert Martin Millar | 582 |
| 10m Air Rifle | Guy Lorion (CAN) | 588 | Sharon Bowes (CAN) | 583 | Malcolm Cooper (ENG) | 582 |
| 10m Air Rifle – Pairs | Canada Guy Lorion Sharon Bowes | 1167 | Australia Wolfgang Jobst Anton Wurfel | 1151 | England Malcolm Cooper Robert Smith | 1146 |
Shotgun
| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Men/Open |||||||
| Trap | Ian Peel (ENG) | 195 | Peter Boden (ENG) | 192 | Roland Phillips (WAL) | 192 |
| Trap – Pairs | England Peter Boden Ian Peel | 185 | Northern Ireland Tom Hewitt Eamon Furphy | 183 | Australia Terry Rumbel Domingo Diaz | 183 |
| Skeet | Nigel Kelly (IOM) | 196 | Joe Neville (ENG) | 195 | Brian Gabriel (CAN) | 195 |
| Skeet – Pairs | England Joe Neville Ken Harman | 195 | Canada Brian Gabriel Don Kwasyncia | 193 | New Zealand John Woolley Jeff Farrell | 189 |

### Weightlifting

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Men |||||||
| Flyweight – Overall | Greg Hayman (AUS) | 212.5 | Charlie Revolta (SCO) | 185 | Alan Ogilvie (SCO) | 177.5 |
| Bantamweight – Overall | Nick Voukelatos (AUS) | 245 | Clayton Chelley (NZL) | 217.5 | Teo Yong Joo (SIN) | 215 |
| Featherweight – Overall | Ray Williams (WAL) | 252.5 | David Lowenstein (AUS) | 250 | Jeffrey Brice (WAL) | 235 |
| Lightweight – Overall | Dean Willey (ENG) | 315 | Ron Laycock (AUS) | 307.5 | Langis Côté (CAN) | 290 |
| Middleweight – Overall | Bill Stellios (AUS) | 302.5 | Louis Payer (CAN) | 300 | Neil Taylor (WAL) | 270 |
| Light Heavyweight – Overall | Dave Morgan (WAL) | 350 | Robert Kabbas (AUS) | 325 | Peter May (ENG) | 317.5 |
| Middle Heavyweight – Overall | Keith Boxell (ENG) | 350 | David Mercer (ENG) | 342.5 | Guy Greavette (CAN) | 340 |
| Sub Heavyweight – Overall | Denis Garon (CAN) | 360 | Duncan Dawkins (ENG) | 332.5 | Andrew Saxton (ENG) | 327.5 |
| Heavyweight – Overall | Kevin Roy (CAN) | 375 | Gino Frantangelo (AUS) | 372.5 | Andrew Davies (WAL) | 370 |
| Super Heavyweight – Overall | Dean Lukin (AUS) | 392.5 | David Bolduc (CAN) | 347.5 | Charles Garzarella (AUS) | 342.5 |

### Wrestling

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men ||||
| Light Flyweight | Ron Moncur (CAN) | Duncan Burns (ENG) | David Connelly (SCO) |
| Flyweight | Chris Woodcroft (CAN) | James McAlary (AUS) | Nigel Donohue (ENG) |
| Bantamweight | Mitch Ostberg (CAN) | Steve Reinsfield (NZL) | Brian Aspen (ENG) |
| Featherweight | Paul Hughes (CAN) | Dan Cumming (AUS) | Stephen Bell (NZL) |
| Lightweight | Dave McKay (CAN) | Zsigmund Kelevitz (AUS) | Steve Cooper (ENG) |
| Welterweight | Gary Holmes (CAN) | Geoffrey Marsh (AUS) | Fitz Walker (ENG) |
| Middleweight | Chris Rinke (CAN) | Wally Koenig (AUS) | Tony Bull (ENG) |
| Light Heavyweight | Noel Loban (ENG) | Doug Cox (CAN) | Graeme English (SCO) |
| Heavyweight | Clark Davis (CAN) | Robert Algie (NZL) | David Kilpin (ENG) |
| Super Heavyweight | Wayne Brightwell (CAN) | Albert Patrick (SCO) | Keith Peache (ENG) |