| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Athletics | ||
| Competitor for New Zealand | ||
| 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.
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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.
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).
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]
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. 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.
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]
| Distance | Time | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800m | 1:44.3 NR | Christchurch | 1962 |
| 1000m | 2:16.6 NR | Auckland | 1964 |
| 1500m* | 3:37.6 | Auckland | 1964 |
| Mile | 3:54.1 | Auckland | 1964 |
| 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 |
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