Sir Murray Halberg

Personal information
Birth name	Murray Gordon Halberg
Nationality	New Zealand
Born	(1933-07-07) 7 July 1933 (age 78) Eketahuna, New Zealand
Sport
Coached by	Bert Payne Arthur Lydiard
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	5000 m: 13:43.76 (1960) 10000 m: 28:49.11 (1960)
Medal record Men's Athletics Competitor for  New Zealand Olympic Games Gold 1960 Rome 5000 metres Commonwealth Games Gold 1958 Cardiff 3 miles Gold 1962 Perth 3 miles

Sir Murray Gordon Halberg, ONZ, MBE (born 7 July 1933) is a former New Zealand middle distance runner who won the gold medal in the 5000 metres event at the 1960 Olympics. He also won gold medals in the 3 miles events at the 1958 and 1962 Commonwealth Games. He has worked for the welfare of children with disabilities since he founded the Halberg Trust in 1963.

Born in Eketahuna, Halberg was a rugby player in his youth, but suffered a severe injury during a game, leaving his left arm crippled. The next year, he took up running, seemingly being only more motivated by his handicap. In 1951, he met Arthur Lydiard, who became his coach. Lydiard had been a famous long-distance runner, and had new ideas on the training of athletes. Three years later, Halberg broke through, winning his first national title on the senior level.

At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he placed fifth in the mile. At the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, he placed eleventh in the 1500 metres. Halberg became the first sub four-minute miler from New Zealand, and won the gold medal in the three miles at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He became New Zealand Sportsman of the Year for 1958.

For the 1960 Rome Olympics, Halberg focused on the longer distances, entering in the 5000 and 10000 m. Halberg won the 5000 m gold, on the same day countryman Peter Snell was victorious in the 800 m. Halberg later opts not to run in 10,000 m.

The following year, Halberg set four world records in events over imperial distances. After carrying the flag at the opening ceremonies, Halberg successfully defended his three mile title at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He closed out his running career at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, finishing seventh in the 10,000 m.

Sir Murray was made an MBE in 1961, and knighted in 1988. In the June 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, Halberg was appointed to New Zealand's highest non titular honour, the Order of New Zealand. The following month he became only the fourth person to be awarded the Blake Medal, named after fellow countryman Sir Peter Blake, for his more than 50 years' service to athletics, and to children with disabilities. In 1963 he set up The Halberg Trust, which supports children with disabilities to be active in sport, creation and leisure. For many years the Halberg Trust has managed the New Zealand Sportsman of the Year Award, which is now called the Westpac Halberg Awards.

Halberg House of Hutt International Boys' School is named after Sir Murray Halberg, and students in the house earn what are called "Meter points" which relates to Sir Murray Halberg and his running Career. Tauranga Boys' College also named a house after Sir Murray Halberg.

Bibliography[link]

• A Clean Pair Of Heels: The Murray Halberg Story by Murray Halberg, with Garth Gilmour

External links[link]

• Extensive biography
• Page with Photo, one of two at Sporting Heroes

Sporting positions
Preceded by Pyotr Bolotnikov	Men's 5.000m Best Year Performance 1961 – 1962	Succeeded by Pyotr Bolotnikov

Sir Peter Snell

Personal information
Birth name	Peter George Snell
Nationality	New Zealand
Born	(1938-12-17) 17 December 1938 (age 73) Opunake, Taranaki
Residence	Texas, United States
Sport
Coached by	Arthur Lydiard
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	800 m: 1:44.3 (1962, NR)
Medal record Competitor for  New Zealand Men’s athletics Olympic Games Gold 1960 Rome 800 metres Gold 1964 Tokyo 800 metres Gold 1964 Tokyo 1500 metres Commonwealth Games Gold 1962 Perth 880 yards Gold 1962 Perth 1 mile

Sir Peter George Snell, KNZM, MBE (born 17 December 1938 in Opunake) is a former New Zealand athlete, now resident in Texas, United States. He had one of the shortest careers of world famous international sportsmen, yet achieved so much that he was voted New Zealand’s "Sports Champion of the (20th) Century". A protege of the great New Zealand athletics coach Arthur Lydiard, Snell is known for the three Olympic and two Commonwealth gold medals he won.

Early athletic career[link]

Snell's family moved to Waikato in 1949 where he attended Te Aroha College, where he became an all-around sportsman. He won several middle-distance running events in his hometown of Te Aroha, although some members of his new school lived in Ngaruawahia. He attended Mount Albert Grammar School in Auckland, where he took up a wide range of team and individual sports, including rugby union, cricket, tennis, badminton, and golf.

As a teenager, Snell excelled in tennis, and pursued the sport through appearances at the Auckland and New Zealand Junior Tennis Championships.

At age 19, Snell was motivated to concentrate seriously on running by the comments of his future coach, Arthur Lydiard, who told him, "Peter, with the sort of speed you've got, if you do the endurance training, you could be one of our best middle-distance runners."^[1] During his early career under the tutelage of Lydiard, he started with New Zealand titles and records for 880 yards and the mile and, being an unusually large (by track standards) and powerful man, hinted of great things to come.

Olympic success[link]

He came to international attention when he won the gold medal and set a new national record for 800 m at the Rome Olympics in 1960. He was particularly dominant four years later at the Tokyo Olympics where he won the gold and set a new Olympic record in the 800 metres, and won gold in the 1500 metres. The 800–1500 metres double was not achieved again by a male athlete in open global championship until Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain won both golds at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics at Helsinki. (After the 2008 Olympic Games Ramzi was stripped of his Olympic gold medal for doping, but that penalty was not applied retroactively to his World Championship gold medals).

World records[link]

In January 1962 Snell broke the world mile record before a huge crowd at Cook’s Gardens in Wanganui, and one week later set new world records for both the 800 m and 880 yd at Christchurch. He then won gold and set a new record for 880 yd at the Commonwealth Games in Perth in 1962, and won gold for the mile at those same games. Later that year he was created a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

In all, Snell set five individual world records and joined with fellow New Zealand athletes to set a new four by one mile relay record as well. He was at the peak of his career in 1965 and promising much more, when he stunned New Zealand and the athletics world by announcing his retirement to move on to other things.

Snell's former world records of 1 minute 44.3 seconds for 800 m, set on 3 February 1962, and 2 minutes 16.6 seconds for 1000 m set on 12 November 1964, remain the New Zealand national records for these distances. His 800 m record remains the fastest ever run over that distance on a grass track, and is also the oldest national record recognized by the IAAF for a standard track and field event. The 800 m record also remains the official "Oceana" continental area record.^[2]

New opportunities[link]

Snell worked for a tobacco company before moving to the United States of America in 1971 to further his education. He gained a B.S. in Human Performance from the University of California, Davis, and then a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from Washington State University. He joined University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas as a research fellow in 1981. He is Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine and also Director of their Human Performance Center. A member of the American College of Sports Medicine, Snell was honoured in 1999 as an Inaugural Inductee, International Scholar, into the Athlete Hall of Fame, University of Rhode Island.

Adopting a new sport, Snell become an active orienteer and won his category, men aged 65 and older, in the 2003 United States Orienteering Championship.^[3] He is a past president of the North Texas Orienteering Association and a member of the United States Orienteering Federation.

Commemorations and awards[link]

Peter Snell was one of five Olympic athletes from New Zealand featured on a series of commemorative postage stamps issued in August 2004 to commemorate the 2004 Olympic Games. The two dollar stamp issued by New Zealand Post features a stylized photo of Peter Snell snapping the tape at the finish line of the 800 metres race at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.^[4]

In 2007 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (DSc) from Massey University in recognition of his work as an Exercise Physiologist. On 14 August 2009, he took part in a ceremony in Wellington that changed the honours received during the previous government to a traditional knighthood.

A larger than life-size bronze statue of Peter Snell was erected in his hometown of Opunake, Taranaki, and was unveiled on 19 May 2007. The statue is based on a photo of Snell crossing the finish line in the historic race at Wanganui's Cook's Gardens in 1962.^[5] A similar bronze statue of Snell was unveiled in Cook's Gardens on 15 August 2009 to commemorate his athletic achievements.^[6]

Interviewed by the Wanganui Chronicle after the unveiling, Snell said he was internationally known as a miler, but he had never reached his potential over the mile and the 800 metres was probably his best distance.^[7] He said his greatest effort was the world 800m/880yard double record set on Lancaster Park a few days after his new mile record, with an 800m time that would have won the gold medal 46 years later at the Beijing Olympics.

In 2001, Macleans College in Auckland created the Peter Snell House as part of its "Whanau House" system.^[8]

Personal bests[link]

• *En route to mile

External links[link]

• Page with Photo, one of two at Sporting Heroes
• Peter Snell - Athlete - A documentary made in 1964 available to view on NZ On Screen
• Peter Snell at NZOC website

Records
Preceded by Roger Moens	Men's 800 metres World Record Holder equalled by Ralph Doubell and Dave Wottle 1962-02-02 – 1973-06-27	Succeeded by Marcello Fiasconaro
Preceded by Herb Elliott	Men's Mile World Record Holder January 27, 1962 – June 9, 1965	Succeeded by Michel Jazy
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Ralph Boston	Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1962	Succeeded by Yang Chuan-Kwang
Preceded by Yang Chuan-Kwang	Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1964	Succeeded by Ron Clarke

References[link]

Cited References

General References

Roger Moens
Born	(1930-04-26) 26 April 1930 (age 82) Erembodegem, Belgium
Nationality	Belgium
Occupation	athlete
Known for	1960 Summer Olympics

Medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for  Belgium
Men's Athletics
Silver	1960 Rome	800 metres

Roger Moens (born 26 April 1930)^[1] is a former Belgian middle distance runner. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome he won a silver medal.^[2] He also was the person to break Rudolf Harbig's long-standing world record over 800 m.^[3]

References[link]

Records
Preceded by Rudolf Harbig	Men's 800 metres World Record Holder 1955-08-03 – 1962-02-02	Succeeded by Peter Snell
Preceded by Rudolf Harbig	European Record Holder Men's 800m 3 August 1955 - 6 August 1966	Succeeded by Franz-Josef Kemper

This biographical article relating to Belgian athletics is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article about a Belgian Olympic medalist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Lars Bjerring Larsen (born 30 November 1981) was a Danish football player. He had to retire in 2010 due to injury.

References[link]

• Herfølge Boldklub Profile

This biographical article related to a Danish association football defender is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Medal record
Billy Mills
Men's athletics
Competitor for the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1964 Tokyo	10000 metres

William Mervin Mills or "Billy" Mills, also known as Makata Taka Hela (born June 30, 1938), is the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal.^[1] He accomplished this feat in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. His 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest of Olympic upsets.^[2] A former United States Marine, Billy Mills is a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe.

Biography[link]

William Mervin Mills was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and was raised on the impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for Oglala Sioux people. He was orphaned when he was twelve years old and was raised by his grandmother. Mills took up running while attending the Haskell Institute, which is now known as Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Both a boxer and a runner in his youth, Mills gave up boxing to focus on running.

He attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship. He was named a NCAA All-America cross-country runner three times and in 1960 he won the individual title in the Big Eight cross-country championship. The University of Kansas track team won the 1959 and 1960 outdoor national championships while Mills was on the team.

After graduating with a degree in Physical Education, Mills entered the United States Marine Corps. He was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves when he competed in the 1964 Olympics.^[2]

1964 Olympics[link]

Billy Mills crosses the finish line in the 10,000 m in the 1964 Olympics, 14 October 1965. U.S. Marine Corps photo

Billy Mills qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics on the U.S. Track and Field Team in the 10,000 meter and the marathon. The favorite in 1964 for the 10,000 m was Ron Clarke of Australia who held the world record. The runners expected to challenge him were defending champion Pyotr Bolotnikov of the Soviet Union, and Murray Halberg of New Zealand, who had won the 5000 m in 1960.

Mills was a virtual unknown. He had finished second in the U.S. Olympic trials. His time in the preliminaries was a full minute slower than Clarke's. Clarke set the tone of the race. His tactic of surging every other lap appeared to be working. Halfway through the race, only four runners were still with Clarke: Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia, Kokichi Tsuburaya of Japan, and Mills. Tsuburaya, the local favorite, lost contact first, then Wolde. With two laps to go, only two runners were still with Clarke. On paper, it seemed to be Clarke's race. He had run a world record time of 28:15.6 while neither Gammoudi nor Mills had ever run under 29 minutes.

Mills and Clarke were running together with Gammoudi right behind as they entered the final lap. They were lapping other runners and, down the backstretch, Clarke was boxed in. He pushed Mills once, then again. Then Gammoudi pushed them both and surged into the lead as they rounded the final curve. Clarke recovered and began chasing Gammoudi while Mills appeared to be too far back to be in contention. Clarke failed to catch Gammoudi, but Mills pulled out to lane 3 and sprinted past them both. His winning time of 28:24.4 was almost 50 seconds faster than he had run before and set a new Olympic record for the event. No American had ever before won the 10,000 m, nor has one come seriously close since.

American television viewers were able to hear the surprise and drama as NBC expert analyst Dick Bank^[3] screamed, "Look at Mills, look at Mills" over the more sedate play-by-play announcer Bud Palmer, who seemed to miss what was unfolding.^[4] For bringing that drama to the coverage, Bank was fired.^[5]

After the race, Mills talked with Clarke and asked if he was straining as hard as he could on the final straightaway to the finish, to which Clarke replied, "Yes." Mills has stated that he tried to be relaxed during his final kick to the finish line and felt that helped him to pass both Gammoudi and Clarke. Both Clarke and Mills ran the marathon at the 1964 Olympics after the 10,000 m event. Clarke finished in 9th place, and Mills finished in 14th, in a respectable 2:22:55.4, approximately two-and-a-half minutes behind Clarke.

Post-Olympics[link]

Mills speaking at Schofield Barracks in November 2010

Mills later set U.S. records for 10,000 m (28:17.6) and the three-mile run, and had a 5,000 m best of 13:41.4. In 1965, he and Gerry Lindgren both broke the world record for the six-mile run when they finished in a tie at the AAU National Championships, running 27:11.6.^[6]

Legacy and honors[link]

• 1976, Billy Mills was inducted into the United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1976,^[7]
• 1984, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. *He has also been inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, the Kansas Hall of Fame, the South Dakota Hall of Fame, the San Diego Hall of Fame, and the National High School Hall of Fame.

• Mills is the subject of the film Running Brave (1983), starring Robby Benson.

• Mills also serves as the spokesperson for Running Strong for American Indian Youth,^[8] an organization that helps support projects that benefit the American Indian people, especially the youth.

Books[link]

• 1990, Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding, written with Nicholas Sparks.^[9]

• 2005, Lessons of a Lakota.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Marine Corps portal

• Olympic medalists in athletics
• Jim Thorpe

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Billy Mills

• Billy Mills, USA Track and Field Hall of Fame
• Running Strong for American Indian Youth Website
• Billy Mills, Running Past