Hayden Meikle counts down the 150 greatest moments in Otago sport.
No 126: Don Jowett's Empire Games Double (1954)
Don Jowett returned home to a hero's welcome in Dunedin after winning the gold medal in the 220 yards and a silver medal in the 440 yards at the Empire Games in Vancouver in 1954.
Jowett trained with Australian sprint star Marjorie Jackson and her coach before the Games.
It honed Jowett's starting skills and contributed to his gold medal in the 220 yards in a personal-best time of 21.5sec.
He was always confident of winning the gold medal.
"At the top of the bend I realised I was going to win, as long as I didn't break down or fall over," he told the Otago Daily Times years later.
Jowett, who has lived in Brisbane since the 1960s, used to train at Tahuna Park with the aid of car headlights.
His 440 yards time of 47.4sec was 2sec faster than he had run before. It interested the Australians, who asked him to join their 4x440yd relay squad for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.
He expected to be selected by New Zealand and remained loyal. It was a bad decision, because he was not selected.
