Jack Lovelock
Jack Lovelock was born on the West Coast, in Crushington, in 1910. His father was the superintendent of a mine battery. When his father died in 1922, Jack was sent to board at Timaru Boys' High School.
At Timaru Boys' High School, he excelled at sport and acidemicly. He represented the school in rugby, cricket, atheletics, boxing, tennis, swimming and gymnastics. He set records at Timaru Boys' in the quarter mile, half mile and mile. He was also Head Prefect, school dux and was third in New Zealand in the University Entrance Scholarship exam.
After finishing high school, Jack went to Otago Medical School for two years, before being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where his running began in earnest.
His first major triumph was the British Empire record for the mile, toppled in 1932 with a time of 4:12 - which was almost 25 seconds faster than Lovelock had ever run in New Zealand.
Jack Lovelock then represented New Zealand in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, but the best he could manage in the 1500 metres final was seventh.
In 1933, Jack was included in the Oxford and Cambridge team to meet American Universities, and at Princeton, he set a world record for the mile, in a time of 4:07.6 - 1.6 seconds inside the existing record. In 1934 American Glenn Cunningham just beat this time.
Since setting his world mile record, Lovelock had come within 0.6 of a second of the 1500 metres record and had won the British Empire Games mile in the rather ordinary - although a new Games record - time of 4:12.8. But Lovelock was carrying a knee injury. He spoke to one of his hospital's most distinguished doctors (Alexander Fleming, the inventor of penicillin). Fleming made for Lovelock an extraordinary baccine which Lovelock injected daily into his knee-joint on the boat to America. It ws a sort of hit-or-miss remedy which could hve put Lovelock out of athletics completely, but it worked and he ws up and running again.
Lovelock was going to America for a race billed as "the mile of the century". When the race began, "iron-man Cunningham" was the favourite. Cunningham set off at a blistering pace, but Lovelock was not to be drawn, and Cunningham was well spent when Jack set off on his final sprint, which left the Americans in the dust, and saw him win the race with ease, but not in record time.
It was by no means certain that Jack would run in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but Lovelock was determined and planned the race in his head for months. He had developed a set of tactics for the race to help him succeed over faster athletes.
The 1936 Olympics were to be Hitler's pride and joy - an Olympian spectacle and a tribute to Nazism. During the march past of the New Zealand team, led by Lovelock, as the team approached the dais and the Fuhrer, Lovelock saw a little man with a moustache. Thinking Hitler was standing alone, he respectfully dipped his flag, with the entre team also making an acknowledgement. Half a dozen steps further on, the team drew paralled with the official box and Lovelock, too embarrassed to admit his mistake, kept walking and staring straight ahead, almost provoking an international incident by appearing to snub the temperamental German leader.
It was not decided until just before the races which race Lovelock would compete in, as he was down for both the 1500 metres and the mile, but Arthure Porritt (the team manager) decided that Lovelock would race in the 1500 metres.
Shortly before the 1500 metres event Lovelock collapsed, and team manager Arthur Porritt (later Governor-General of New Zealand) gave him a massive injection of Fleming's serum into his knee.
As well as having Cunningham to contend with, Lovelock was up against Luigi Beccali, the Italian who had taken the 1500 metre gold medal at the 1932 Olympics. The largest stadium in the world was packed with 112 000 people for the final. Lovelock's plan had been to jump the field at the bell lap, but two runners were in the way. Lovelock reasoned that the obvious place to make his move past Cunningham would be at the head of the back straight, but Cunningham would be expecting this. So Lovelock did the unexpected and with a sudden move whisked past with 300 metres to run. It was a straight-out sprint for the tape, and Lovelock not only made it, but set a new world 1500 metre record in the process, in a time of 3:47.8. which stood for 5 years. Jack later called it "the most perfectly executed race of my life."
Lovelock felt that his medical studies were being neglected as a result of the preparation his races demanded. Consequently, he retired from running and after war service as a medical officer with the New Zealand Division settled in New York as a doctor.
He met an untimely death at the age of 39, when he fell under a train in New York City. It was 24 years before another New Zealander won an Olympic track gold.
Achievements
1932 - British Empire Record 4:12
Jack Lovelock held the first recognised world record by a New Zealander - his 4:07.6 mile at Princeton USA in 1933.
Empire Games Gold in London in 1934 in a time of 4:12.8
Won "the mile of the century"
He then won the first New Zealand track and field Gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympic 1500m with world record of 3.47.8 The record stood for five years.
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