Commonwealth Games 2002

Since 1930, the Commonwealth Games has been held every four years. This multi-sport event is attended by over 71 nations of the Commonwealth. The first Games were held in Hamilton, Canada and were attended by 11 countries with 400 athletes. The Commonwealth Games, 2002 were held at Manchester, England.

The Games were known by numerous names in different periods like the British Empire Games (1930 to 1950), British Empire and Commonwealth Games (1954 to 1966), British Commonwealth Games (1970 to 1974) and from 1978 onwards known as the Commonwealth Games. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were held at the new City of Manchester Stadium. The official mascot of the games was Kit, the playful cat. The 2002 Commonwealth Games were the largest in terms of participation by 72 countries. There were three team and 14 individual sports. The XVII Commonwealth Games were held from 25 July till 4 August 2002. The Games were also significant as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth celebrated her Golden Jubilee.

The Commonwealth Games, 2002 were attended by 3,679 athletes. It featured events like shooting, weightlifting, netball, gymnastics, athletics, triathlon, table tennis, rugby 7s, boxing, hockey, aquatics (swimming, diving and synchronized swimming), badminton, squash, judo, wrestling, cycling and bowls.

It was in this Games that full medal events for elite athletes with a disability (EAD) were featured for the first time. These events were weightlifting, lawn bowls, athletics, table tennis and swimming.

Australia bagged the highest medals with 207, England came second with 166 medals, Canada stood third with 118 medals and India got fourth position with 69 medals.