The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, and Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London using a recycled part of the project, which lost the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics to Sydney, Australia. The 2002 Commonwealth Games were, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in terms of teams and athletes participating. The 2002 Commonwealth Games had the largest number of events of any Commonwealth Games in history, featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set while finishing second to Marie-José Pérec's number-four time at the 1996 Olympics. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.
Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of 21.24 metres outdoors and 20.98 m indoors. These marks are Oceanian, Commonwealth and New Zealand national records. She also holds the Oceanian junior record (18.93 m) and the Oceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as the World Championships record, World Indoor Championships record and Commonwealth Games record.
Amantle Montsho is a female sprinter from Botswana who specializes in the 400 metres. She represented her country at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, reaching the final at the latter edition. She was the first woman to represent Botswana at the Olympics. She has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics and the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and is the former World Champion over the 400m, winning in a personal best time of 49.56 in Daegu.
Alana Quade is a former Australian pole vaulter and Olympian.
Benn Harradine is a retired Australian discus thrower who competed at three consecutive Olympic Games, starting in 2008.
Julia Ratcliffe is a retired New Zealand track and field athlete who specialised in the hammer throw. She won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, having won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Melissa Breen is an Australian 100 metres and 200 metres runner. Breen broke the Australian record for the women's 100 m sprint, when she clocked 11.11 seconds at the ACT Championships, held on 9 Feb 2014 at the Australian Institute of Sport track in Canberra under ideal conditions with a 1.9 mps following wind, warm conditions and 600+ metres elevation. This broke a record previously held by Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, which had stood for more than 20 years.
Zoe Buckman is an Australian runner who has competed nationally and internationally in the 400 metre, 800 metre, 1,500 metre and 5,000 metre events. She ran for the University of Oregon. She has also competed at the Junior World Championships, the Australian National Championships, the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the 2013 IAAF World Athletics Championships where she was a finalist in the Women's 1500 metres, the 2016 Olympics, the 2017 World Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Kathryn Mitchell is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She has represented her country at three Olympic Games, finishing ninth in 2012 and sixth in 2016. She won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 68.92 m, a Commonwealth Games, Australian and Oceanian record. It also ranks her ninth on the world all-time list.
Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson is an English athlete. A multi-eventer, she is primarily known as both a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. She has been World Champion in both, as well as a double Commonwealth Games heptathlon champion.
Christabel Nettey is a Canadian athlete specialising in the long jump. She is a two-time Olympian, 2016 and 2020. She has been to two Commonwealth Games, winning gold at the 2018 edition and bronze at the 2014 edition. She won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games.
The Tuvalu Athletics Association (TAA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Tuvalu.
Tomas Walsh is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event. His personal best of 22.90 m, set in Doha, 5 October 2019, is also the Oceanian record and makes him the sixth best shot putter in history.
Zane Robertson is a New Zealand middle and long-distance runner. He lives in Iten, Kenya. At the age of 17 he and his twin brother Jake moved from New Zealand to Iten, Kenya, to further their running careers.
Athletics was one of ten core sports that appeared at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. As a founding sport, athletics has appeared consistently since its introduction at the 1911 Inter-Empire Games; the recognised precursor to the Commonwealth Games.
Hamish Peacock is an Australian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He has competed at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and the Summer Olympics.
The Men's 400 metres at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, was held at Hampden Park between 28 and 30 July 2014. The event was won by pre-event favourite and Olympic champion Kirani James in a new Commonwealth Games record. Wayde van Niekerk from South Africa came second and Lalonde Gordon of Trinidad and Tobago got the bronze medal.
Ese Brume MON is a Nigerian athlete who specializes in the long jump. She is the current commonwealth champion and a three-time African senior champion in the long Jump and holds a personal best of 7.17 m She currently holds the commonwealth games record, African junior record and African record in the event. She's a two-time medalist at the world athletics championship, an Olympic bronze medalist and also a five-time African junior champion in athletics.
Alexander (Alex) Beck is an Australian Olympic athlete. He is a three time defending National champion.
