Jan 092023
1966 Commonwealth Games – Kingston, Jamaica
Opening Ceremony … 4 Aug 1966Host City … Kingston, JamaicaClosing Ceremony … 13 Aug 1966
Participants … 1,316 athletes, 24 Commonwealth Nations
1966 Games   1966 Medals …gold-medalGoldThis image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is medal-s-sm-2.gifSilverBronzeGames Main Page

The 1966 Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. It was the first time that a multi-sport event for members of the British Commonwealth and Empire had been held.

ON JULY 26, 1966 Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace handed the baton to the six mile champion (1960 Perth Games) Bruce Kidd to begin its long journey to Kingston, Jamaica. At the Opening Ceremony at Independence Park, carried in turn by Jamaican Gold Medallists and local boys and girls, it was presented to Prince Philip. It was put on permanent display at the Institute of Jamaica the next day as a memento of the Games.

The Aussies were almost unbeatable winning an impressive ten out of thirteen swimming events. Fifteen world records were set at the Games in the outdoor Stadium Pool. It was the first time Keifer Non-Turbulence Floats were used. These are the floats that mark the lanes. This new technology prevented waves from splashing over from one lane to another.

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The 1966 Games logo is made of two blue and white emblems. On the left is the British Empire and the Commonwealth Games Federation’s emblem. On the right is the Jamaican Coat of Arms. The logo background is blue.

Problems at the Games

The Games were plagued by a variety of problems. Because of extreme traffic gridlock around Independence Park, many athletes were late or weren’t able to arrive for the Opening Ceremony at all.

John Coker (Sierra Leone) was scratched from competing in the boxing competition because there were no gloves in Jamaica to fit him. He had extraordinarily long thumbs and there wasn’t enough time to make new ones to fit him.

Even routine activities had unexpected problems. Wendel Mottley (Trinidad) took Gold in the Men’s 440 yards, but refused to take the winner’s podium. It seems a broken rope prevented the Trinidad and Tobago flag from being raised. The presentation had to be delayed until the following day.

In cycling’s 120-mile road race, athletes faced a variety of hazards. There were roads full of pot holes and obstacles such as chickens, goats, pigs and dogs to be avoided. Heavy downpour in the mountains brought down leaves and twigs over the roads causing eleven riders to skid out of control. Only seventeen from a field of forty-three finished the race.

Low Debt for Jamaica Hosting the Commonwealth Games

Although the Games had more than its share of problems, it should be noted that the population of Jamaica in 1966 was only 1.5 million people. Compared to the larger and wealthier nations, Jamaica did a fine job without putting its people in debt. The Games cost Jamaica £406,469 to run, but only had a deficit of £1730 … an impressive accomplishment.

A 10 year old Jamaican diver, Betsy Sullivan, was the youngest athlete. The oldest was Charles Sexton (England) at 59 who won Gold in the .22 free pistol event. And the decathlon appeared for the first time as an event at the Games. For the 1966 Games, there were 110 events in 10 sports.

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as track and field, cycling and other events were held at the National Stadium. It was built four years earlier to commemorate Jamaica’s independence and was officially opened by Princess Margaret.

Name Changes
During the time between the 1960 and the 1966 Games, several countries changed their names.
 

 Old Name New Name Old Name New Name
 Aden South Arabia Northern Rhodesia Zambia
 British Guiana Guyana Southern Rhodesia Malaysia
 Nyasaland Malawi Tanganyika Tanzania

Top 22 Countries By Total Medals

Dual bronzes were awarded in 10 divisions of boxing. Host country listed in bold.

Countrygold-medalThis image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is medal-s-sm-2.gifTotal
1England33242380
2Australia23282273
3Canada14202357
4New Zealand851326
5Jamaica04812
6India34310
7Nigeria34310
8Ghana5229
9Trinidad & Tobago5229
10Pakistan4149
11Scotland1449
12Kenya4138


 

Countrygold-medalThis image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is medal-s-sm-2.gifTotal
13Wales3227
14Northern Ireland1337
15Malaysia2215
16Uganda0033
17Isle of Man1001
18Bahamas0101
19Bermuda0101
20Guyana0101
21Papua New Guinea0101
22Barbados0011

Participating Teams

Countries attending the games were: Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Honduras, Canada Ceylon, England, Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Guyana, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Papua & New Guinea, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Arabia, St Vincent, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Wales


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