Richard John Tayler (born 12 August 1948) is a former New Zealand runner who mostly competed in distances from 1500 m to 10,000 m. Tayler was born in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

, and attended Timaru Boys' High School, the same school as Jack Lovelock. He is best known for winning the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the

1974 Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games () were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The event was officially named "the friendly games". T ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, in a time of 27:46.4, breaking the New Zealand record. Tayler competed at the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

and

, as well as the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

. He finished 12th at the 1st IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Waregem, Belgium, 1973.

Arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

cut short Tayler's running career. In the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, Tayler was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services to athletics.

References

External links

* * * * 1948 births Living people New Zealand male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for New Zealand Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand male cross country runners Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Timaru Athletes from the Canterbury Region New Zealand Athletics Championships winners 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics {{NewZealand-athletics-bio-stub