NZ legend Peter Snell dead at 80
Wellington, December 14
Three-time Olympics champion and world mile record holder Peter Snell has died in Dallas. He was aged 80.
Snell, who is regarded as one of the greatest middle-distance runners, won the 800m at the 1960 Rome Olympics aged 21, and the 800-1,500 double at the 1964 Tokyo Games.
He was the first man since 1920 to win the 800 and 1,500 at the same Olympics. No male athlete has done so since. Snell also won two Commonwealth Games gold medals in the 880 yards and mile at Perth in 1962. He twice held the mile world record, and held world records in the 800m, 880 yards, 1,000m, and the 4×1-mile relay.
Snell’s death was confirmed by family friend and New Zealand sports historian Ron Palenski, who heads New Zealand’s Sport Hall of Fame. “It is very sad news, a grievous loss for New Zealand,” Palenski said. “In terms of track and field, he is probably the greatest athlete New Zealand has had.” Snell was coached by Arthur Lydiard, an innovator who was regarded as one of the world’s finest coaches of middle and long distance athletes. Lydiard also coached Murray Halberg to win the 5,000m at Rome in 1960.
Snell’s athletics career was relatively short. He retired in 1965 to pursue educational opportunities in the United States. — AFP
