Ralph Douglas Doubell

Background

Ralph Douglas Doubell was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on February 11, 1945. He attended Melbourne High School, where his athletic ability emerged relatively late; he began running the half-mile at seventeen and later won the 440-yard and 880-yard events at the All Schools’ Championships.

His early sporting development took place within Melbourne’s strong university and athletics culture. While studying at the University of Melbourne, Doubell encountered the Austrian-born coach Franz Stampfl, whose coaching at the university had helped develop several Australian middle-distance athletes. Their partnership became central to Doubell’s preparation for international competition.

Education

Doubell attended Melbourne High School before studying at the University of Melbourne. Melbourne High, founded in 1905, is one of Australia’s oldest state secondary schools and has a long tradition of academic and extracurricular achievement.

At the University of Melbourne, he completed a Bachelor of Science degree, graduating in 1967 with studies in zoology and psychology. The university, founded in 1853, was Victoria’s first university and had become a major centre of professional, scientific, and cultural education by the time of Doubell’s student years. He trained under Franz Stampfl, who had joined the university’s physical-education environment in the 1950s and became renowned for coaching middle-distance runners.

After retiring from competitive athletics, Doubell entered Harvard Business School and completed a Master of Business Administration in 1974. Harvard Business School, established in 1908, was an influential centre of postgraduate management education during the period when business schools were expanding their role in preparing leaders for international corporations and financial institutions.

Career

Doubell began competing internationally while studying at the University of Melbourne. He won the 800 metres at the 1967 World Student Games in Tokyo in 1:46.7 and also competed successfully on the United States indoor circuit. His Olympic preparation in 1968 was interrupted by Achilles-tendon injuries that kept him from competition for approximately six months.

At the Mexico City Olympics, Doubell won the 800 metres in 1:44.3, equalling the world record and defeating the pre-race favourite, Kenya’s Wilson Kiprugut, with a late finishing surge. The result made him the third Australian male to win an Olympic track-and-field gold medal, following Edwin Flack and Herb Elliott. He also won the 800 metres at the 1969 Pacific Conference Games in 1:48.0 and represented Australia at the 1966 Kingston and 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, finishing sixth in the 880 yards and 800 metres respectively.

Doubell won five Australian championships across the 880 yards and 800 metres between 1964–1965 and 1969–1970. Calf injuries prevented his planned participation in the 1972 Munich Olympics and contributed to his retirement from competitive athletics.

After completing his MBA, Doubell worked in international banking. He spent thirteen years with Citibank in lending-related roles in New York, San Francisco, Melbourne, and London, then worked for Goldman Sachs, including in London and New York and in establishing the firm’s Australian office in Sydney. He later served as a director and divisional head of Corporate and Institutional Banking and as Head of Relationship Management for Deutsche Bank Group in Australia. Deutsche Bank’s Australian operations formed part of the bank’s international corporate and investment-banking network.

Doubell also held senior sports-administration and governance positions. He served as Executive Director of the New South Wales Institute of Sport, was President of Athletics New South Wales for approximately nine years, and was a founding director of Telstra Stadium in Sydney, later known as Stadium Australia, serving on its board until 2007. He subsequently became chairman of the board of 3eep, a sports-oriented technology company.

Achievements

• Won the men’s 800 metres at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games in 1:44.3, equalling the world record and becoming one of Australia’s leading Olympic track champions.

• Won the 800 metres at the 1967 World Student Games in Tokyo and the 1969 Pacific Conference Games, and won five Australian championships across the 880 yards and 800 metres.

• Served as a senior athletics administrator, including Executive Director of the New South Wales Institute of Sport and President of Athletics New South Wales.

• Was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 in recognition of his athletic career.

Views

Doubell’s career reflects a documented belief in maintaining a balance between athletics, education, and professional work. He later explained that having a serious commitment outside running helped prevent athletics from becoming his entire life and supported a broader approach to long-term development.

Membership

Doubell’s documented organizational participation centred on athletics administration and sporting institutions. He was associated with Athletics New South Wales as its president for approximately nine years, helping represent and administer the sport at state level.

He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. The Hall of Fame, established that year, recognises Australians whose athletic performance or sporting contribution has reached the highest national standard.

• Inducted as a member in recognition of his Olympic and international athletics career.

  Sport Australia Hall of Fame , Australia

  1985 - present

• Served as President for approximately nine years.

  Athletics New South Wales , Australia

Personality

Accounts of Doubell’s athletic career describe mental toughness, concentration, and disciplined preparation, particularly in his response to injuries and the pressure of the 1968 Olympic final.

Physical Characteristics: Doubell was approximately 180 centimetres tall and weighed about 65 kilograms during his competitive athletic career.

Quotes from others about the person

• Franz Stampfl’s coaching relationship with Doubell was described as a significant partnership in the athlete’s development. Doubell later recalled that Stampfl encouraged him to believe that winning the Olympic 800 metres was achievable.

Interests

• Sport & Clubs

  Athletics and middle-distance running

Connections

Spouse:

Jennifer Christine Walker

child:

James Doubell

child:

Anna Doubell

child:

Andrew Doubell

child:

Amy Beryl (Stanley) Doubell

child:

Douglas Clayton Doubell

References

• Ralph Doubell - Sport Australia Hall of Fame Documents Doubell’s birth, education, international athletics career, Olympic victory, Australian championships, Hall of Fame induction, and appointment to the Order of Australia.
• Ralph Doubell - Australian Athletics Hall of Fame Provides an extended account of Doubell’s development at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne, his coaching relationship with Franz Stampfl, and his 1968 Olympic victory.
  2004
• Olympedia: Ralph Doubell Documents Doubell’s Olympic result, biographical details, Australian championships, and post-athletics work with Deutsche Bank and Telstra Stadium.
• Ralph Doubell: Do Not Worry, It Is Only Pain Publisher information for Michael Sharp’s biography of Doubell, describing his Olympic achievement, education at Harvard Business School, and later investment-banking career.
  2018