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RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Commonwealth Games in Birmingham have been absorbing with strong crowds and an electric atmosphere... but this fun platform needs more stars to survive There are around 6,500 athletes competing at the Commonwealth Games But a host of top athletes have decided to miss the £800m event in Birmingham Best way to sell event to broadcasters and governments is the lure of star names

By Riath Al-Samarrai for the Daily Mail

Published: 22:31 BST, 4 August 2022 | Updated: 22:52 BST, 4 August 2022

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There are charming quirks and delightful tales wherever you turn at the Commonwealth Games. One of the best of them was first off in the cycling time trial in Wolverhampton’s West Park at midday on Thursday.

The chap’s name is Chris Symonds, a 48-year-old riding for Ghana. Where his story is a little different comes from his day job — he works as a doorman at the House of Commons, has done for 20 years. As he says: ‘Your MP would know me.’

It is easy to love all that. Those who watch sport through the narrow lens of wins and medals are missing an awful lot of the fun. They miss Symonds talking of a training regime that includes his 12-mile each-way commute to Westminster; they miss the 47-year-old cyclist from Walsall, Jim Horton, who now is an immigration officer in the Falklands and was riding for them here. He saw Mark Cavendish the other day and was buzzing. It’s lovely stuff.

Adam Peaty has been a star attraction at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

And yet, it is tempting to go back to what Symonds says about the MPs. They know him, but how much do we know of so many at the centre of this £800m party in the midlands?

There are around 6,500 athletes at these Commonwealth Games. The issue there is a simple one: for all the absorbing sport, strong crowds and atmosphere, how many of those competitors can you name? There are the easy ones: Adam Peaty, Geraint Thomas, Laura Kenny, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Laura Muir, Cavendish and Keely Hodgkinson are the most prominent from the home nations.

Then you can go for Emily Campbell, that force of nature breaking records in the