Many people in Christchurch had not heard of Filbert Bayi, or even his country which they confused with Tasmania in Australia.

But the 1500 metres runner was the name on everybody's lips after he stormed to gold in 3min 32.2sec, a world record time.

Bayi ran from the front at the New Zealand city's Queen Elizabeth II Park, and crossed the line nearly a second quicker than American Jim Ryun's previous world best.

Revered British commentator David Coleman described his performance as "perhaps the most devastating piece of front-running by any athlete in a middle-distance race".

Roger Bannister, famous for clocking the first sub-four minute mile, called it "the greatest run I have ever seen".

Now the secretary general of the Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC), Bayi was denied the chance to add Olympic gold in 1976 due to the African boycott of the Games in Montreal.

But his Christchurch performance remains etched in Tanzanian sporting folklore, and at the Commonwealth Games it has never been surpassed. 

"We still hold the Commonwealth record for the 1500 metres set in Christchurch in New Zealand in 1974," said Henry Tandau, Tanzania's Chef de Mission for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, to insidethegames.

"I think that record should go into the Guinness Book of Records - a good 48 years!

"I am not sure there is another record in the Commonwealth Games that has stood for that long." 

Bayi went on to win a silver medal at the Moscow 1980 Olympics, and his display was indeed the last world record set on the track at the Commonwealth Games.

England's marathon runner Ian Thompson also set a Commonwealth Games record in Christchurch, however, which again still stands and was clocked two days earlier.

Tanzania has competed at every Commonwealth Games since Kingston 1966, with the exception of the heavily-boycotted Edinburgh 1986.

The country has claimed six gold, six silver and nine bronze medals, but has not stepped onto the podium since Samson Ramadhani won the men's marathon in Melbourne in 2006.

"The Commonwealth Games is where Tanzania has fared well so far in all international multi-event competitions it has taken part in," Tandau said. 

"So yes, the Commonwealth Games are a big event in Tanzania."

Tanzania is expecting to take 17 athletes to Birmingham 2022, including six men and three women in athletics.

The country is also due to field three boxers, two judokas, two swimmers and a powerlifter. 

"They have all trained well and we therefore expect all of them to do well," said Tandau. 

"It would be unfair for me to single out one particular athlete as the one to watch out for."

As vice-president of the TOC, Tandau had the Chef de Mission role for Birmingham automatically bestowed on him.

He also took the job for last year's rearranged Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the country fielded a team of three in athletics. 

Alphonce Simbu was the star performer in Japan, finishing seventh in the men's marathon.

"The current constitution of the Tanzania Olympic Committee places the overseeing of Team Tanzania participation in international multi-sport events as the responsibility of the vice-president," said Tandau.

In 1999, Tandau was deputy Chef de Mission at the African Games in Johannesburg, assisting Masauni Yusuph.

"I learnt a lot from him," he said.

Tandau then stepped up to Chef de Mission for the 2007 African Games in Algiers.

"Apart from that I am an instructor for sports management," he said.

"My special interests are strategic planning, marketing and communication and event management."

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted Tanzania, but Tandau believes there are reasons to be positive.

"Like in many other countries it has had its share of negative effects," he said. "But we are coping well.

"As you know Tanzania took part in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, without any COVID-19 effects to our team. 

"So we do have some experience on how to handle the situation."

Football is the most popular sport in Tanzania, while Tandau has expressed an ambition for the country to win an Olympic medal at Paris 2024.

This means that Birmingham 2022 will be an important staging post for the country en-route to the Games in the French capital.

In November, the Queen's Baton Relay visited Tanzania and President Samia Suluhu Hassan was among those to get involved.

Tandau believes that the successful completion of last year's Olympics bodes well for organisers in Birmingham, who will be working under fewer restrictions than their counterparts in Japan and will be able to welcome back full crowds. 

"I hope and pray that it becomes successful," he said. 

"It will mostly depend on the organisers and the Commonwealth Games Federation.

"Planning and proper execution are key to the success of any event. 

"Paying attention to details, even what seems to be very minor, is important. 

"If Tokyo 2020 was successful, with a bigger number of events and participants, I see no excuse why Birmingham 2022 should not be successful."