Sir Peter George Snell is a former New Zealand athlete, now resident in Texas, United States. He had one of the shortest careers, yet achieved so much that he was voted New Zealand’s "Sports Champion of the 20th Century"and was one of 24 members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall Of Fame named in 2012. Snell is known for the three Olympic and two Commonwealth gold medals he won, and the several world records he set.
Education
Snell 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.
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.
In 1971 he moved to the United States of America 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 from Washington State University. 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.
Career
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.
In January 1962 Snell broke the world mile record before a huge crowd at Cooks Gardens in Whanganui, 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 theCommonwealth 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.