mako wrote:
El Keniano wrote:I don't get how the Commonwealth Games bothers Americans so much. You'll just have to deal with meets without athletes from these countries when the games are on.
I am from Europe (not UK), that's why I'm obviously much more interested in the European championship.
I think the relative value of the Commonwealths viz-a-vis the Europeans has changed over the years and is different depending on the events.
Back in the '50's and 60's both were pretty important Champs, just behind the Olympics. But by the mid 70's and throughout the 80's, the Europeans were deemed much stronger in depth and more important than the Commonwealths. Many of the top UK athletes who felt they could only manage one of them, often chose the Europeans. Back then, even the middle distances were not that well represented by Kenya, and the Jamaicans were not the power they are now in the sprints.
I think in the last decade the shift has gone back to the Commonwealths. Certainly now that the Europeans is being held every 2 years, I think it's value has been demeaned somewhat. The last Europeans were a few weeks before the London Olympics, and certainly the general standard of gold medalists at those games were not as high as they were in the 80's and 90's.