The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games, is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has taken place every four years since then. The Commonwealth Games were known as the British Empire Games from 1930 to 1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954 to 1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970 to 1974. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams, making the Commonwealth Games the first fully inclusive international multi-sport event. In 2018, the Games became the first global multi-sport event to feature an equal number of men's and women's medal events.
Onitsha is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industry, and education. It hosts the Onitsha Main Market, the largest market in Africa in terms of geographical size and volume of goods.
The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. These were the first games since the name change from British Empire Games took effect in 1952.
Blessing Okagbare-Otegheri is a former Nigerian track and field athlete who specialized in Long jump and sprints. She is an Olympic and World Championships medalist in the long jump, and a world medalist in the 200 meters. She also holds the Women's 100 meters Commonwealth Games record for the fastest time at 10.85 seconds. She is currently serving a 10 year ban for breaching multiple World Athletics anti-doping rules. Her ban expires on 30 July 2031.
At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the athletics events were held at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in July and August 1954. A total of 29 athletics events were contested at the Games, 20 by men and 9 by women. A total of twenty-four Games records were set or improved over the competition, leaving just five previous best marks untouched. The 1954 edition saw the introduction of the shot put and discus throw for women, as well as the first 4×110 yards relay for women.
The 1966 Nigerian coup d'état began on 15 January 1966, when mutinous Nigerian soldiers led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna killed 22 people including the Prime Minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, many senior Army officers, and sentinels on protective duty. The coup plotters attacked the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos while also blockading the Niger and Benue River within a two-day span of time before the coup plotters were subdued. The General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, was compelled to take control of the government of a country in upheaval, inadvertently putting Nigeria's nascent democracy on hold. His ascendancy to power was deemed a conspiracy by the coup plotters, who were mainly Igbo officers, to pave the way for General Aguiyi-Ironsi to be Head of State of Nigeria. Consequently, the retaliatory events by Northern members of the Nigerian Army that led to deaths of many innocent Igbo soldiers and civilians caused the Nigerian Civil War.
Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna was a Nigerian army major and high jumper. He was the first Black African to win a gold medal at an international sports event when he won at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. His winning mark and personal best of 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) was a games record and a British Empire record at the time.
Ese Brume is a Nigerian athlete who specializes in the long jump. She is a three-time African senior champion in the long Jump and holds a personal best of 7.17 m She is the African junior record holder in the event and also a five-time African junior champion in athletics. In 2021, her younger brother Godson Okeoghene Brume broke the African u-18 100 meter record with 10.13 s.
Oluwatobiloba Ayomide "Tobi" Amusan is a Nigerian track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 metres hurdles and also competes as a sprinter. She Won the 2018 Commonwealth and 2018 African champion in the event. She is also a two-time African Games champion. She won the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich in 2021 in the 100m hurdles.
Peter Wells was a British-born athlete who competed in the High Jump at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics.
The men's 440 yards event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 6 and 7 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The men's 220 yards event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 4 and 6 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The women's 220 yards event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 4 and 6 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The men's 880 yards event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 1 and 4 August at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The men's 440 yards hurdles event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 1 and 4 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The women's high jump event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 4 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The men's 6 miles event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 1 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The women's shot put event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 1 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. It was the first time that the event was contested by women at the Games.
The men's 100 yards event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 1 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
The women's 100 yards event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was held on 1 July at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
