Was Dr Peter Snell The Greatest Middle Distance Athlete of Modern Times?
See for yourself….
1964 Tokyo Olympics: 800m and 1500m double
Three Olympic Gold medals in 3 attempts, and two Commonwealth Golds out of 2 attempts. A perfect 5/5 success rate. Snell ran the last lap in Tokyo in 52.7s, with a stunning last 300m that took only 38.6s. This last lap included a middle 200m of only 25.0s, which had the curve 100m run in 12.3s. Snell relaxed in the last 30m when victory was absolutely assured, but still recorded 13.1s for the last straight! What could he have done if pressured?
1960: Snell’s Bombshell Rome 800m Victory
This was his sudden rise to world stardom four years earlier. He was lucky to get selected to the NZ team due to his lowly world ranking, but came home with the gold.
Peter Snell Short Film
Documents Snell’s training life in 1964. Good shots of Waiatarua and Lydiard’s team.
John Walker Montreal 1976- Another Kiwi Gold
John won this off a limited preparation, as odds-on favourite. A defining moment.