Graham John Davy (4 October 1936 – 18 June 2018) was a New Zealand

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

and sports administrator. He won one national athletics title, and served as the chair of directors of the New Zealand Sports Foundation.

Biography

Born in the

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suburb of

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on 4 October 1936, Davy was the son of John Baxter Davy and Georgiana Alleyne Davy (née Litchfield). He was educated at Auckland Grammar School, and went on to study at Auckland University College and Seddon Memorial Technical College, qualifying as an accountant. In 1960, Davy married Janette Catherine McKenzie, and the couple went on to have three children. As an athlete, Davy won the New Zealand national 100 yards title representing

in 1960, with a time of 9.6 seconds. Davy served as secretary of the Auckland Amateur Athletic Association, and in that role in 1972 he helped Arthur Lydiard get a job with Winstone Ltd that enabled Lydiard to assist athletes and coaches throughout New Zealand. The same year, Davy was the athletics team manager for the New Zealand team at the 1972 Olympic Games in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. He was involved in the formation of the New Zealand Sports Foundation in 1979, and served as a director and chair of the directorate of that body. In 1981, he became the inaugural president of the Pacific Conference Games Federation. He was the director of athletics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, held in Auckland. Davy died on 18 June 2018.

Honours and awards

Davy was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, and the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Davy was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to sport. He was also a life member of Athletics Auckland.

References

1936 births 2018 deaths People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Auckland University of Technology alumni New Zealand male sprinters New Zealand sports executives and administrators New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Athletes from Auckland New Zealand Athletics Championships winners 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen {{NewZealand-athletics-bio-stub