Jack Lovelock

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John Edward "Jack" Lovelock

Date of Birth:	January 5, 1910
Place of Birth:	Crushington, New Zealand
Date of Death:	December 28, 1949
Place of Death:	New York
Occupation:	Physician
Remarks: Olympic athlete in 1932, 1936

Medal record
Men's Athletics
Competitor for New Zealand
Olympic Games
Gold	1936 Berlin	1,500 metres
Commonwealth Games
Gold	1934 London	1 mile

John ("Jack") Edward Lovelock (January 5, 1910 – December 28, 1949) was a New Zealand athlete, and a 1936 Olympic champion.

Born in the town of Crushington (near Reefton) as the son of English immigrants, Lovelock showed a talent for sports while at Timaru Boys' High School. He studied medicine at the University of Otago, while competing for the university team in the New Zealand 1-mile championships. In 1931 he became a Rhodes Scholar at Exeter College, Oxford. He graduated as a medical practitioner.

1 1932 British Empire Games Gold Medal
2 1936 Berlin Olympics Gold Medal
3 Later life
4 Bibliography
5 External links

[edit] 1932 British Empire Games Gold Medal

In 1932 - by then holder of the British Empire record for the mile - Lovelock competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and was placed 7th in the final.

The following year, he set a new world record in the mile: 4:07.6, and in 1934 he won the gold medal in the mile at the British Empire Games. He lost some races, and he believed that he could only make one supreme effort in a season.

[edit] 1936 Berlin Olympics Gold Medal

The highlight of Lovelock's career came in 1936, when he won the gold medal in the 1500 m at the Berlin Olympics, setting a new world record in the final (3:47.8). In that race, he beat Glenn Cunningham into second place. Glenn, who also broke the world record in the race, was considered by many to be the greatest American miler of all time.

[edit] Later life

In WW II he was in the R.A.M.C. He married Cynthia James in 1945; they had two daughters. In 1946 was appointed to the staff of the Manhattan Hospital, New York. In 1949 he fell under a train of the New York Subway; probably from giddieness, though there have been claims that it was suicide.

[edit] Bibliography

Lovelock: New Zealand's Olympic gold miler by Christopher Tobin, Dunedin, 1984
Jack Lovelock - Athlete & Doctor by Dr Graeme Woodfield, Wellington, 2007

[edit] External links

Records
Preceded by Bill Bonthron	Men's 1,500m World Record Holder August 6, 1936 – August 10, 1941	Succeeded by Gunder Hägg
Preceded by Jules Ladoumègue	Men's Mile World Record Holder July 15, 1933 – June 16, 1934	Succeeded by Glenn Cunningham