Frozen in time: men's 100m final, 1970
19 July 1970, IXth Commonwealth Games, Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh
The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (the 'British' was dropped for the 1978 Games) was the first time that metric distances and electronic photo-finish technology had been employed at the Games. And although the Scottish climate was not conducive to fast times, the men's 100m final was a genuinely world-class race (bronze medallist Hasely Crawford, then just 20 years old, would go on to win Olympic 100m gold in 1976) and marked an era when Caribbean sprinters were dominant.
Sunday July 21, 2002
The Observer
LENNOX MILLER (silver, 10.32sec) As a student, Lennox Miller was a record breaker: while at the University of Southern California in the Sixties, the Jamaican was the anchor of the USC's world-record breaking 4x110yard relay team. (One of his team-mates was OJ Simpson.) After graduating, Miller went on to shine at major championships: at the 1968 Olympics, in Mexico City, he won silver in the 100m. His time in the final was 10.04sec, which should have been good enough to earn him gold - but America's Jim Hines ran Miller down to win in an astonishing 9.95. The durable Miller also made it to the 100m final at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where his 10.33 was good enough for bronze. In between, at the 1970 Commonwealth Games, Miller was again denied 100m gold when compatriot Don Quarrie pipped him on the line. Since retiring from athletics, Miller has coached his daughter, the American sprinter Inger Miller, herself an Olympic gold medallist (she was a member of the USA's women's 4x100m relay team in 1996). Lennox Miller currently lives in Pasadena, California, where he works as a dentist.
DON QUARRIE (gold, 10.24sec) Although Lennox Miller was a world-class athlete, he was often overshadowed by his good friend Quarrie, who also attended USC. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 25 February 1951, Quarrie is considered one of the finest sprinters of all time, and the greatest bend runner ever. Quarrie's career, long by sprinters' standards, spanned five Olympic Games. His medal tally is one gold (200m, 1976), two silvers (100m, 1976; 4x100m, 1984) and one bronze (200m, 1980). He might have won more, but a car accident in 1979 marred his build-up to the Moscow Games. In the Commonwealth Games, Quarrie was dominant: he won a 100m/200m double in successive Games (1970 and 1974) and also won 100m gold at the 1978 Games, held in Edmonton. Now 41, Quarrie has retained close ties to athletics and currently works as a sports agent. (He managed Inger Miller in the mid-1990s; he is also her godfather). Quarrie is still revered in his native Jamaica - a bronze statue of him stands at the entrance of Jamaica's national stadium and there is a school named after him in the St Thomas region of Kingston. He has even had a song written for him - Tribute to Donald Quarrie by reggae outfit Joe Gibbs and The Guerillas.
HASELY CRAWFORD (bronze, 10.33sec) Born on 16 August 1950, Crawford, a gear machinist from San Fernando, Trinidad, was the seventh of 11 children. He is best remembered for winning 100m gold at the 1976 Olympics. He surprised everybody to win the title from lane one, in a time of 10.06sec, pipping Don Quarrie by one-hundredth of a second. Crawford was showered with honours after Montreal. He was awarded the Trinity Cross in 1978, his portrait adorned two postage stamps and six calypso songs were penned to commemorate his triumph. Also, Trinidad & Tobago's national stadium, in Port of Spain, is named in his honour. Now 51, Crawford lives in Port of Spain, in a palatial home presented to him by the Trinidadian government.
GARY EDDY (fourth, 10.34sec) Surely one of the hairiest men ever to qualify for a major sprint final, Eddy, an Australian, narrowly missed out on a medal in his second, and last, Commonwealth Games. He also competed in the 1966 Games, held in Kingston - he finished fifth in the final of the 100 yards, and fourth in the final of the 220 yards. Formerly a 400-yard runner, he competed at the 1964 Olympics in the one-lap event, but failed to qualify from his heat. The also-rans were Bermuda's Gary Symonds, who finished fifth in 10.38sec, and George Daniels of Ghana, who finished sixth in 10.42sec.
