Video: Commonwealth Games Opening Event

Bermuda joined some 70 other nations in kicking off the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland yesterday [July 23], with more than 40,000 spectators on-hand to witness the introductions of the teams at the event’s opening ceremony.

This year’s iteration of the Commonwealth Games will see 6,500 athletes and officials from 71 different nations and territories compete for medals in 17 different sports over 11 days, from July 23 through August 3, 2014, according to the official website of the Games.

As the Bermuda team was introduced — wearing our signature Bermuda shorts — the event’s announcers said, “The crowd is welcoming Bermuda and flag-bearer Micah Franklin, the squash player. They’ve brought 18 athletes to fight for medals here at Glasgow 2014.”

“They’ve got a couple of athletes in the ranking tomorrow at the triathlon: Flora Duffy and Tyler Butterfield. So, even though they’re sporting the famous Bermuda shorts, it’s probably got the right temperature out there to be wearing those shorts.”

Bermuda’s 18-strong team consists of Arantxa King, Shianne Smith, Aaron Evans, Harold “Tre” Houston, Tyrone Smith, Shaquille Dill, Nicole Mitchell, Dominique Mayho, Gemma Lightbourne, Micah Franklin, Robert Maycock, Nicholas Kyme, Julian Fletcher, Roy-Allan Burch, Flora Duffy, Tucker Murphy, Tyler Butterfield, and Jonathan Herring.

Bermuda comes in at the 1 hour 31 minute mark of the video below:

Throughout history,Bermudian athletes have won a total of five medals in previous Commonwealth Games, including one gold medal, two silver medals, and two bronze medals.

Clarence [Nicky] Saunders was a bronze medalist in high jump at the Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia in 1982. Eight years later, at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, Saunders became the first Bermudian to win a gold medal at a major international sporting event, winning gold with his jump of 2.36 metres, a record that stands to this day.

Antoine Jones and Conrad Lister were the 1998 Commonwealth Games silver medalists in men’s doubles tenpin bowling in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The most recent Commonwealth Games medalist was Brian Wellman, who won the bronze medal in triple jump at the 1994 Commonwealth Games held in Victoria, Canada.

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