Cecil Henry Matthews (13 October 1914 – 8 November 1987) was a New Zealand

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

from

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...

at Berlin and

New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games was represented by a team of 69 competitors and 13 officials, including 18 athletes, 15 rowers, eight swimmers and divers, and seven each of boxers, cyclists and wrestlers. Selection of the team for th ...

at Sydney. At the

he was eliminated from the 5000 metre event, finishing eighth in his heat, and was scratched from the 10,000 metres. He had tendon problems (like

Pat Boot Vernon Patrick Boot (22 October 1914 – 15 January 1947) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner who represented his country at the 1936 Summer Olympics and at the 1938 British Empire Games, winning gold and bronze medals at the latter. Earl ...

, who also had a disappointing result at Berlin), from running on the decks of the '' Wanganella''. He then received guidance from the Olympic 1,500 metres winner,

Jack Lovelock John Edward Lovelock (5 January 1910 – 28 December 1949) was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres. Early life Lovelock was born in the town of Crushington ...

, and at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 yea ...

won two gold medals, in the three-mile (5 km) race where he beat Peter Ward, and in the six-mile (10 km) event. He had no prior experience in 6 miles, which did not appear on the New Zealand programme until 1948. Matthews credited his 1938 success to Lovelock. Matthews twice won the New Zealand national 3 miles title, in 1936 and 1938. He served in the Air Force in World War II, then moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Cecil 1914 births 1987 deaths New Zealand male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War II Athletes from Christchurch Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games