Dick Quax

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Dick Quax (1977)

Theodorus Jacobus Leonardus "Dick" Quax (born January 1, 1948 in Alkmaar , Netherlands ; † May 28, 2018 in Auckland ) was a successful track and field athlete from New Zealand . In the 1970s, Quax, along with fellow countrymen Rod Dixon and John Walker, belonged to the world class on the medium and long haul. With a height of 1.87 m, his competition weight was 73 kg.

Life

Quax emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1954 and grew up in Waikato. He played rugby at Hamilton High School but started running at an early age. As a teenager, he traveled to Auckland to see his idols Peter Snell and Murray Halberg run. Quax emulated them and began to train early on using Arthur Lydiard's methods . As a sixteen year old, he was already running over 100 miles a week.

Since 1968 Quax has been trained by the Lydiard student John Davies , and the collaboration between the two continued after Quax had been active in projects for the marketing of athletics.

At the British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970 , he won silver in the 1500 meter run in 3: 38.1 minutes behind the Kenyan Kipchoge Keino . In the 5000 meter run , he finished seventh in 13: 43.4 minutes. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, he was unable to qualify for the final in the 5000 meter run.

For years, Quax suffered from shin injuries, which cost him participation in the British Commonwealth Games in 1974 in his native Christchurch. After an operation in 1975, he was finally able to train pain-free again. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, he first started in the 10,000 meter run , but could not qualify for the final. In contrast, he reached the final over 5000 meters. In a dramatic sprint decision, the Finn Lasse Virén won in 13: 24.76 minutes. Quax won silver in 13: 25.16 minutes ahead of the West German Klaus-Peter Hildenbrand in 13: 25.38 minutes, who was just able to place himself ahead of Rod Dixon (13: 25.50 minutes) with a jump at the finish .

At the Dagens Nyheter Gala in Stockholm on July 5, 1977, Quax was able to beat the five-year-old 5000-meter world record of Belgian Emiel Puttemans by a tenth of a second with 13: 12.9 min . Dixon had set the pace, and the German Karl Fleschen was a second behind at the finish . A year later this world record was broken by the Kenyan Henry Rono .

Quax finished ninth in the 10,000 meter run at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. At the end of his career, Quax completed a few more marathons . In September 1980 it ran a time of 2:10:47 hours.

In his final years Quax was also active in New Zealand politics. He belonged to the right-wing liberal ACT party .

Top performances

  • 1500 meters: 3: 36.7 minutes (1976)
  • Mile: 3: 56.2 minutes (1976)
  • 5000 meters: 13: 12.86 minutes (1977)
  • 10,000 meters: 27: 41.95 minutes (1977)
  • Marathon: 2:10:47 hours (1980)

literature

  • Manfred Holzhausen: world records and world record holder. 5,000m run / 10,000m run . Grevenbroich 1999
  • Ekkehard zur Megede: The Modern Olympic Century 1896-1996 Track and Field Athletics . Berlin 1999, published by the German Society for Athletics Documentation e. V.
  • Arnd Krüger : Many roads lead to the Olympics. The changes in training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997). In: N. Gissel (Hrsg.): Sporting performance in change. Czwalina, Hamburg 1998, pp. 41-56.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ New Zealand running great Dick Quax dies, aged 70, after long battle with cancer. In: stuff.co.nz. May 28, 2018, accessed May 28, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Quax, Dick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Quax, Theodorus Jacobus Leonardus (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand athlete
DATE OF BIRTH January 1, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Alkmaar
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 2018
Place of death Auckland