One of my high school teachers ran in the Wanganui race where Snell broke the mile record. The teacher was a bit of a goofball but we were all impressed and he was proud of being part of history, even if he was about 200m back when Snell broke the tape.
Didn't know he was a table tennis player. Would have reached out to him when I was in New Zealand!
RIP
Andydean wrote:
One of my high school teachers ran in the Wanganui race where Snell broke the mile record. The teacher was a bit of a goofball but we were all impressed and he was proud of being part of history, even if he was about 200m back when Snell broke the tape.
Useless without names.
Superb athlete and wonderful person. Idolized his heroics as a young boy running middle distances. My pb’s far behind his but he was inspiring. 1.50.02 (800m ) on grass and 1.47 (800m) synthetic. Had the pleasure of meeting Peter many yrs ago. He was kind and nurturing. He was even willing to autograph my book The Milers.
I have been fortunate thru the yrs to meet great athletes like Peter who simply dazzled us with their talent.
Funny thing with the book of autographs .. it started off with just Milers. ..Snell ..Santee..Ryun..Aouita ..Scott etc..then other athletes from other events signed it.. Joan Benoit..Carl Lewis..Frank Shorter so much so that it became a Who’s Who of Athletics.
Peter ..for your unwavering dedication and pursuit of excellence ..
May you Rest In Peace.
Mahavishnu1500 wrote:
Without a doubt my favorite runner off all-time. Arguably the greatest middle distance runner ever, especially considering his mastery of tactics, as well as world records...run without pacing on a grass track 1:44 and 3:54. Incredible.
I am so sad.
P.G. Snell was my favourite runner.
Imagine if he able to run full time and not worry about a normal job, how much quicker he could run?!!!
NZ wrote:
Mahavishnu1500 wrote:
Without a doubt my favorite runner off all-time. Arguably the greatest middle distance runner ever, especially considering his mastery of tactics, as well as world records...run without pacing on a grass track 1:44 and 3:54. Incredible.
I am so sad.
P.G. Snell was my favourite runner.
Imagine if he able to run full time and not worry about a normal job, how much quicker he could run?!!!
Yes, 800m runners today can't even double in the 1500/Mile without it costing them precious tenths of a second off their times. Imagine if they had to work like the guys back in the day!
I read that a lot of Snell's weekly mileage was running to and back from work.
Such a shame that he couldn't have continued up to Mexico (for financial reasons). Sure he would have won his third successive gold there and likely obliterated the WR on the new synthetic track.
As a kid I read Lydiard's "Run To The Top". Then Halberg and Snells' books (and Elliot's). A bunch of very inspiring guys. Lydiard and Snell came to my school. Running around the school field Snell absolutely oozed power. Those great runners from Down Under persuaded many a youngster that if you set your goals high and worked towards them there was no limit to what you might achieve. A later generation of Kiwi runners - Walker, Quax and Dixon - proved them right. And Nick Willis.
As a journalist I once had the privilege of interviewing Snell quite a few years back. A very gracious and thoughtful man. Despite his extraordinary achievements, there was no ego.
One of the advantages of the net is that there is some footage available of Snell at his peak. It's still very inspiring to see him triumph in some of those races in the early '60's. I recall an account by the sports journalist Joseph Romanos when he was covering the Milers of the Century function and they showed film of Snell at Tokyo. As Snell once again powered away from the field in the 1500m final Romanos observed another Kiwi great Rod Dixon watching it, and with a tear in his eye Dixon said quietly to himself, "He was really something, wasn't he?" Yes. He was really something.
Armstronglivs wrote:
As a kid I read Lydiard's "Run To The Top". Then Halberg and Snells' books (and Elliot's). A bunch of very inspiring guys. Lydiard and Snell came to my school. Running around the school field Snell absolutely oozed power. Those great runners from Down Under persuaded many a youngster that if you set your goals high and worked towards them there was no limit to what you might achieve. A later generation of Kiwi runners - Walker, Quax and Dixon - proved them right. And Nick Willis.
As a journalist I once had the privilege of interviewing Snell quite a few years back. A very gracious and thoughtful man. Despite his extraordinary achievements, there was no ego.
One of the advantages of the net is that there is some footage available of Snell at his peak. It's still very inspiring to see him triumph in some of those races in the early '60's. I recall an account by the sports journalist Joseph Romanos when he was covering the Milers of the Century function and they showed film of Snell at Tokyo. As Snell once again powered away from the field in the 1500m final Romanos observed another Kiwi great Rod Dixon watching it, and with a tear in his eye Dixon said quietly to himself, "He was really something, wasn't he?" Yes. He was really something.
Elliot wanted to destroy his opponents while Snell wanted to do his best.
Both dominated.
NZ wrote:
Armstronglivs wrote:
As a kid I read Lydiard's "Run To The Top". Then Halberg and Snells' books (and Elliot's). A bunch of very inspiring guys. Lydiard and Snell came to my school. Running around the school field Snell absolutely oozed power. Those great runners from Down Under persuaded many a youngster that if you set your goals high and worked towards them there was no limit to what you might achieve. A later generation of Kiwi runners - Walker, Quax and Dixon - proved them right. And Nick Willis.
As a journalist I once had the privilege of interviewing Snell quite a few years back. A very gracious and thoughtful man. Despite his extraordinary achievements, there was no ego.
One of the advantages of the net is that there is some footage available of Snell at his peak. It's still very inspiring to see him triumph in some of those races in the early '60's. I recall an account by the sports journalist Joseph Romanos when he was covering the Milers of the Century function and they showed film of Snell at Tokyo. As Snell once again powered away from the field in the 1500m final Romanos observed another Kiwi great Rod Dixon watching it, and with a tear in his eye Dixon said quietly to himself, "He was really something, wasn't he?" Yes. He was really something.
Elliot wanted to destroy his opponents while Snell wanted to do his best.
Both dominated.
I don't think you could have been either of them without a killer instinct. Snell's compatriot and bronze medallist in the Tokyo 1500, John Davies, described how before the race Snell eyeballed the other runners in the warm-up area, with the implicit message, "you can do anything you want but I will destroy you with my power". And that he surely did.
Many years later, at the Milers of the Century celebrations, Elliot said to Snell, "I would have kicked your *ss". Add self-belief to the champion mind-set.
Armstronglivs wrote:
NZ wrote:
Elliot wanted to destroy his opponents while Snell wanted to do his best.
Both dominated.
I don't think you could have been either of them without a killer instinct. Snell's compatriot and bronze medallist in the Tokyo 1500, John Davies, described how before the race Snell eyeballed the other runners in the warm-up area, with the implicit message, "you can do anything you want but I will destroy you with my power". And that he surely did.
Many years later, at the Milers of the Century celebrations, Elliot said to Snell, "I would have kicked your *ss". Add self-belief to the champion mind-set.
+1:39!
Lol I love that!
This video of my interview with Sir Peter was made a few years ago- Dr. Michael Spino
Michael Spino wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8432LnrL0x8This video of my interview with Sir Peter was made a few years ago- Dr. Michael Spino
Fantastic interview. You can see Snell’s passion, his eyes light up retelling his training/goal setting. A lot more to winning than just showing up at the starting line.
Ps- I remember your coaching work at Life College back in the day.
Steve.Clam wrote:
Armstronglivs wrote:
Many years later, at the Milers of the Century celebrations, Elliot said to Snell, "I would have kicked your *ss". Add self-belief to the champion mind-set.
+1:39!
Lol I love that!
Haha he seriously said that to his face?
Cnxmxmxm wrote:
Steve.Clam wrote:
+1:39!
Lol I love that!
Haha he seriously said that to his face?
It was said in a joking manner. Snell took it in good spirit.
sky wrote:
Cnxmxmxm wrote:
Haha he seriously said that to his face?
It was said in a joking manner. Snell took it in good spirit.
It's Down Under humour, typical of Aussies and Kiwis, amongst whom there is often a friendly rivalry. Only Elliot could get away with saying that to Snell, who laughed it off afterwards with the comment - "typical Australian!"
If their careers had coincided the wr for the 1500 would have been faster than 3.35 and the 3.50 mile barrier likely gone. And if they had had all the advantages of modern day professionals and not been amateurs the current wr's may not be as they.
ajt wrote:
Armstronglivs wrote:
I can recommend a fine drama-doco called "The Golden Hour", which dealt with the Snell-Halberg triumph in Rome '60. Snell (among others) is interviewed on the programme. Should be available on NZ television-on-demand if it hasn't already been downloaded to YouTube. Well worth watching.
+1 excellent programme. Here it is on vimeo.com
https://vimeo.com/244136994RIP great man
excellent
To fully appreciate the greatness of the runner watch his 1964 Olympic 1500 victory and his demolition of Beatty, Grelle and the rest of Igloi's LATC in a mile in (?) 1963. Both available on YouTube. Awesome performances.
His 880yards/800 record on GRASS (!) takes some beating as a great run.
milermb wrote:
To fully appreciate the greatness of the runner watch his 1964 Olympic 1500 victory and his demolition of Beatty, Grelle and the rest of Igloi's LATC in a mile in (?) 1963. Both available on YouTube. Awesome performances.
His 880yards/800 record on GRASS (!) takes some beating as a great run.
As part of the interesting background to the Compton and Modesto races in '63, Snell was coming from his off season but felt he had to meet Beatty, the coming man and the indoor mile record-holder. Snell said he feared losing all that he had built up since Rome '60 if he wasn't able to beat the American. The pressure on Snell was considerable. His response was emphatic, destroying the field of top US milers and Beatty in the first race, and having the final word in the second. It was the end of Beatty as a threat to the great Kiwi runner.
1964 had also presented some challenges to Snell, with doubtful fitness, injuries and losses to his talented fellow-countryman, John Davies. It was only a solo 800 time-trial at Tokyo, that was less than a second off his own Olympic record, and witnessed by the great Roger Moens, that persuaded him he could go for the double. Moens later expressed the view that Snell was the greatest middle-distance runner he had ever seen.
Armstronglivs wrote:
less than a second off his own Olympic record, and witnessed by the great Roger Moens, that persuaded him he could go for the double. Moens later expressed the view that Snell was the greatest middle-distance runner he had ever seen.
That part is awesome enough, Moens recognized his awesomeness and figured he'd guide him into the direction of the legendary double. Thank you
Armstronglivs wrote:
If their careers had coincided the wr for the 1500 would have been faster than 3.35 and the 3.50 mile barrier likely gone. And if they had had all the advantages of modern day professionals and not been amateurs the current wr's may not be as they.
Yes, can you imagine if Elliott, Snell, and Ryun had all been full time athletes, not retiring until their thirties, competing against each other regularly in a European circuit on mondo tracks with quality pacing etc.?
The history of the WRs would certainly have been very different.