The Australian's eventually triumphed over the Sri Lankan city after the 70 voting delegates in attendance at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly here voted by 43 votes to 27 in favour of the Gold Coast.

The announcement came after a week of intense lobbying from both bidders in the Caribbean, but Clarke said that the Kenyan Olympic Committee chairman and double Olympic gold medallist, who he was often seen with in St Kitts and Nevis, was the Gold Coast's trump card as he helped the city secure the 19 crucial votes from Africa.

"I have a lot of friends in the Commonwealth Games Movement," said 74-year-old Clarke, who claimed silver in the six miles behind Keino at the Kingston 1966 Commonwealth Games.

"Keino is a great buddy and he is revered throughout Africa.

"He acted as our unofficial ambassador for the week.

"He holds great standing and they listen to what he has to say.

"He helped spread the word.

"Keino locked in the bulk of the 19 African nations, one by one."

But despite helping the Gold Coast secure enough votes for the win, Keino was unsuccessful in his attempt to secure a CGF vice-presidency berth as he lost out to Canada's Bruce Robertson and South Africa's Gideon Sam who took the two available spots.


Clarke himself was a key part of the Gold Coast 2018 bid team and formed a formidable quartet with Gold Coast bid chairman Mark Stockwell, chief executive Mark Peters and Queensland Premier Anna Bligh (pictured above with Clarke right) in helping to lobby enough votes to take the city to ultimate victory.

Clarke himself is an iconic figure who was one of the world's best middle and long distance runners during the 1960s.

He lit the Olympic Flame at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games as a 19-year-old went on to win Olympic bronze at the Tokyo 1964 Games and later in his career, as well as four Commonwealth Games silver medals across three editions of the competition.

But despite his clout, Clarke has played down his own role in helping steer the Gold Coast to their 2018 bid win and instead focused on the contribution of others such as Keino and Bligh.

On the Queensland Premier, Clarke said: "We might disagree on some things when we get back [to the Gold Coast] but in St Kitts, she was brilliant."

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