Murray Halberg

Sir Murray Halberg (far left) as guest of honor at the 2010 World Rowing Championships

Sir Murray Halberg (born July 7, 1933 in Eketahuna ) is a former New Zealand athlete who started in medium and long-distance disciplines. His greatest success is the Olympic victory in Rome in 1960 in the 5000 meter run . At this run, to the surprise of the entire competition, he started the final spurt two laps before the end of the run. Halberg's successes are largely linked to the methods of his running coach Arthur Lydiard . Before his career as a runner, Halberg was a rugby player, but in 1950 he injured his left arm, which remained immobile from then on.

In 1963, Halberg founded the Halberg Foundation (The Halberg Trust) for the benefit of disabled children. In 1988 Halberg was knighted as a Knight Bachelor ("Sir") for his sporting success . In New Zealand, the "Halberg Award" named after him is presented annually to deserving athletes.

More Achievements

• 1952 New Zealand junior champion over a mile and over two miles
• 1956 11th place over 1500 meters at the Olympic Games in Melbourne
• 1958 Winner of the British Empire and Commonwealth Games over 3 miles, first New Zealander under 4 minutes over a mile
• 1960 5th place over 10,000 meters at the Olympic Games
• 1961 world records / world bests: 2 miles, 4 × 1 mile (with Peter Snell , Gary Philpott and Barry Magee ), 3 miles, 2 miles (hall)
• 1964 7th place over 10,000 meters at the Olympic Games in Tokyo

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Arnd Krüger : Many roads lead to Olympia. 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.
2. ^ Halberg Award History . Halberg Trust , archived from the original on April 4, 2010 ; accessed on August 29, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).  

Web links

• Murray Halberg in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )