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Kiwi of the Week
Today in History
21 October
1964 Peter Snell wins second gold in Tokyo
In the eight days leading up to the Olympic 1500-m final Snell had already completed five races: the heats, semi-final and final of the 800 m – in which he won gold – and the heats and semi-final of the 1500 m. Joining him in the 1500-m final was Kiwi teammate John Davies, who just made it through his semi-final, placing third.
The field for the 1500 m was initially led by Michel Bernard of France. He fell back at the 400-m mark and for about 200 m there was a lull in the race. Then Davies took the lead, with Snell behind him, fluctuating between second and third place. At one point he found himself boxed in. Fortunately, John Whetton of England saw Snell signal and generously moved aside. In the back straight Snell made his move, passing first Witold Baran of Poland and then Davies to take the lead. As he came to the last bend, and again as the straight opened, Snell glanced back to see he was leading by a reasonable margin. He eventually won by 15 metres.
Snell's time of 3:38.1 was 2.5 seconds outside the world record held by the previous Olympic champion, Australian Herb Elliot. Following the race Elliot's coach, Percy Cerutty, criticised Snell for not trying to ‘smash the world record'. But Snell was not disappointed – he had run to win, and that is what he had done.
Snell's team-mate Davies very nearly won silver. He finished with the same time as Josef Odlozil, but was awarded bronze as the Czechoslovak was judged to be fractionally ahead. It was still a triumphant day for New Zealand – the first time the country's flag had flown twice in one medal ceremony.
Snell retired from competitive athletics in 1965 and moved to the United States in 1971. He trained as a doctor, specialising in exercise physiology, and is currently an Associate Professor at the Southwestern Medical Centre, University of Texas. He remains the only man since 1920 to win the 800 m and the 1500 m at the same Olympic Games.
Image: Peter Snell winning the 1500m at Tokyo (olympic.org)
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