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A special display is set to commemorate 90 years since Jack Lovelock’s famous 1936 Olympic victory.
"COME ON JACK” is an exhibition being held at the Timaru Boys’ High School Memorial Library this week and will feature an extensive display of Lovelock’s medals and trophies as well as images, videos and other memorabilia relating to his life.
Lovelock, who attended Fairlie Primary School (1919–23) and then Timaru Boys’ High School (1924-28), cemented his global sporting fame when he won the 1500m gold medal on August 6 at the 1936 Berlin Olympics with a world record time of 3mins 47.8sec.
He notably also set a world mile record of 4mins 07.6sec in 1933 and won the gold medal in the mile at the British Empire Games in 1934.
Exhibition organiser and former TBHS rector Kevin O’Sullivan said Lovelock was widely considered as the first of the great New Zealand Olympians.
"He wasn’t New Zealand’s first gold medal but he was the first athletics gold medal. So there is a big affinity there for people.
"He's been well written about, there are half a dozen major works that just focus on him. Most people, if they're good enough, they get a single book.
"He was arguably our first truly international sportsman. He was voted the second most popular sportsman by the media in America in 1933 and I don’t think there were too many New Zealanders who were getting the nod by American journalists in the 30s.”
He said there would be a wide range of items on display, including some that had never really been shown before.
"There will of course be his gold medal but there’s also a wide range of trophies, some of which have some significance or a bit of a story behind them.
"There’s a big cup that was presented to him for what was his last race, an award for Outstanding Sportsperson of the 1930s, and a little trophy that he received for boxing in March of 1936, four months out from his Olympic gold medal.
"We’ve also got a few photographs that capture a bit of his background and give the display a bit of a human touch. Among them is a snap of him with his sister Olive and also a photo of him with his girlfriend playing lacrosse, of all games.”
Mr O’Sullivan said it was a privilege for the school to be the custodians of a lot of Lovelock’s awards and memorabilia and to also have the chance to make the collection accessible for the public to commemorate the 90th anniversary of his Olympic victory.
The exhibition will be open to the public on Thursday and Friday from 2pm-5pm and Saturday and Sunday from 1pm-4pm.
connor.haley@alliedmedia.co.nz