The Commonwealth Games and its echo of empire and all the connotations that word means in today’s turbulent world.
Still relevant? Only a few days into a sporting celebration which did not avoid addressing such issues in an occasionally poignant opening ceremony, I would argue, yes. Yes, it is.
New Zealand’s viewing audience so far has been presented with slip-ups and bad hair days - expectations exceeded and shortcomings; Lewis Clareburt’s gold medals in the 400m individual relay and 200m butterfly; a near constant stream of gold on the velodrome track and outstanding performances from Bryony Botha, Ellesse Andrews, Aaron Gate and Corbin Strong in particular; plus bronze medals for the sevens teams who would have expected better.
We’ve seen Dame Sophie Pascoe win gold in her only race in Birmingham – the S9 100m freestyle – in her likely final Commonwealth Games.
Read more: Medal mania! Clareburt, Willmer win swimming golds, Neiufi adds silver
So we’ve seen tears. We’ve seen horrendous cycling accidents, including riders and bikes flying into the velodrome crowd. We’ve also had a marathon winner run 100m the wrong way – through no fault of his own – and retrace his steps and still win. Take a bow, Uganda’s Victor Kiplangat.
We’ve also seen mean-spirited officiating which appears to run counter to everything the Games stands for. We've watched as athletes, many of them teenagers or in their early 20s, behave impeccably despite the occasional crushing blow and lack of common sense by those charged with running the thing.
We’ve seen life. Which means we’ve seen the Games through a lens of our own individual experiences, beliefs and values.
Some may have been initially moved by the opening ceremony’s reference to the strikes by the Birmingham “chainmakers”, a group of women in the early 1900s who fought for the minimum wage, and then felt it cruelly ironic it was being celebrated at a time when an aspiring female prime minister is currently campaigning on a ticket to make industrial action illegal in Great Britain. Which is the anachronism here?
Others may have watched dumbstruck at 24-year-old track cyclist Botha’s strength in leading the team pursuiters to their silver medal and later herself to gold in the individual pursuit.
Some may have wondered whether Black Fern Portia Woodman’s choice to wear her long braids out during her team’s sevens campaign was a good one after they were pulled by an Australian defender as Woodman went close to scoring what would have been a crucial try late in her team’s semifinal defeat.
Read more: NZ Sevens sides bounce back to win bronze medals
Also: two sevens golds would have been the expectation for New Zealand Rugby and they could hardly have come at a better time for an organisation - how to put this delicately? – under a little scrutiny.
Many will have watched and wondered at Hayden Wilde’s strength in the bike leg of the triathlon when leading a breakaway of two other riders, his determination on the run leg in putting himself into a winning position, and his grace in dealing with the 10-second time penalty which denied him the chance to sprint for gold against friend and rival Alex Yee from England (and the eye sight of the official who ruled Wilde had unclipped his helmet before racking his bike).
Some (okay, me) will have wondered at the decision by the track cycling officials to deny third-placed para-cyclist Sarah Unwin, from England, and her pilot Georgia Holt a bronze medal in the Tandem B sprint due to a technicality.
Officials explained that as the event was whittled down to five teams due to the withdrawal of a sixth, only two medals could be awarded. To make matters significantly worse for the pair, they were moved on by security when quietly standing behind the podium during the ceremony and subsequently fined after standing on the third step later with bronze medals borrowed from English teammates.
Their behaviour wasn’t acceptable, according to officials. Makes you wonder.
Above all, others will have reacted in disbelief as 22-year-old Kiwi Andrews was denied a silver medal and indeed was fined and docked UCI points for failing to stand on the podium with her pursuit teammates because she was preparing for the team sprint due to be held less than an hour later.
Andrews later showed immense physical and mental strength to help her teammates to gold in that event and another gold for herself in the individual sprint (after a series of knockout races).
It was a triumph of ambition and athletic spirit and talent over joyless bureaucracy, an inspirational collection of performances which put a small act of petty book-keeping firmly in the shade. In our current world, maybe we need to see that now more than ever.
Relevant? Oh, yes.
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