Jack LOVELOCK 1910-1949

One of New Zealand's most celebrated Olympic champions, John Edward (Jack) Lovelock was born on 5 January, 1910 at Crushington, near Reefton. Later he moved with his parents to Greymouth, Temuka and Fairlie. His father died when Jack was only 13.

He was a very able student - dux of Fairlie primary school, winner of a Junior National Scholarship and later, as a boarder at Timaru Boys' High School, he became head prefect and dux and won a university scholarship. He also became the school's best boxer and cross-country runner and developed his talent as a middle-distance runner. At his final school sports in 1928 Lovelock set three records.

While studying medicine at the University of Otago from 1929-30, Lovelock competed at national level in athletics. He was never to win a New Zealand title as he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1930 and entered Exeter College, University of Oxford, in 1931.

On 26 May, 1932 he set a new British and British Empire record for the mile of 4 minutes 12.0 seconds to become the fifth-fastest miler in history. Two weeks later he broke the world record for the three-quarters of a mile race with a time of 3 minutes 2.2 seconds. On 15 July, 1933 in 'the greatest mile of all time', Lovelock beat American Bill Bonthron on his home track at Princeton University; both went under the world record, Lovelock's 4 minutes 7.6 seconds breaking it by almost two seconds.

In 1934, Lovelock moved to St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London. Continuing with athletics he gained further one-mile victories at London's White City stadium: the English (Amateur Athletic Association) championship, another defeat of Bonthron, and New Zealand's only gold medal of that year's British Empire Games. On 15 June, 1935, he again beat his American rivals Glen Cunningham and Bill Bonthron in a New York race billed as the 'mile of the century'.

In 1936 at the Berlin Olympic Games Lovelock competed in the final of the 1500 metres. He surprised his fellow competitors with his acceleration 300 metres from the finish line to win, four metres clear, in 3 minutes 47.8 seconds, a new world record. It was the first time an Olympic 1,500 metres winner had broken the world record since 1904 and was New Zealand's first Olympic gold medal in athletics.

In 1947, Lovelock, who by this time had married, moved with his family to Brooklyn, New York, where he worked as assistant director of physical medicine and director of rehabilitation at the New York Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. On 28 December, 1949, suffering from influenza and dizziness, Lovelock fell beneath a New York subway train at Church Avenue station, Brooklyn, and was killed instantly. He was 39 years old.