 Matthews onWanganella in 1936 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Cecil Henry Matthews (1914-10-13)13 October 1914 Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 8 November 1987(1987-11-08) (aged 73) Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| National finals | 3 miles champion (1936, 1938) | ||||||||||||||
| Personalbest(s) | 3 miles – 13:59.6 (1938) 6 miles – 30:14.5 (1938)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Cecil Henry Matthews (13 October 1914 – 8 November 1987) was a New Zealandlong distance runner fromCanterbury, who representedNew Zealand at the1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin andNew Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games at Sydney.
At the1936 Summer Olympics he was eliminated from the5000 metre event, finishing eighth in his heat, and was scratched from the 10,000 metres. He had tendon problems (likePat Boot, who also had a disappointing result at Berlin), from running on the decks of theWanganella.
He then received guidance from the Olympic 1,500 metres winner,Jack Lovelock, and at the1938 British Empire Games won two gold medals, in the three-mile (5 km) race where he beatPeter Ward, and in the six-mile (10 km) event. He had no prior experience in 6 miles, which did not appear on the New Zealand programme until 1948. Matthews credited his 1938 success to Lovelock.[1]
Matthews twice won the New Zealand national 3 miles title, in 1936 and 1938.[2] He served in the Air Force in World War II, then moved toAuckland where he died.[3]
Commonwealth Games champions in men's5000 metres | |
|---|---|
| 3 miles (1930–1966) | |
| 5000 metres (1970–present) |
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Commonwealth Games champions in men's10,000 metres | |
|---|---|
| 6 miles (1930–1966) | |
| 10,000 metres (1970–present) |
|
