Sir John George Walker, (born 12 January 1952) is a former middle-distance runner from New Zealand who won the gold medal in the men's 1500 m event at the 1976 Olympics. He was also the first person to run the

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

in under 3:50. After his running career was over he was active in local government, as an

Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...

lor and representing the Manurewa-Papakura ward.

1974 Commonwealth Games

Walker achieved world prominence in 1974 when he finished second to Filbert Bayi of Tanzania in the 1500 metre run at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

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 one of the greatest 1500 m races in history, Walker and Bayi both broke the existing world record, and others in the race recorded the fourth, fifth, and seventh fastest performances ever. Walker also took the bronze medal in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

in 1:44.92, his lifetime best for the distance; it still ranks him third-fastest New Zealander ever, behind James Preston and Peter Snell. Throughout his career as a world-class miler, Walker was coached by Arch Jelley, a school principal and a middle distance runner himself, whose work with runners has been typified by meticulous training programmes on a scientific basis and effective communications in person.

World record breaking runs

Walker broke the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

in the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards, 5,280 Foot (unit), feet, or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance running, middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling ...

with a time of 3:49.4 in

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, on 12 August 1975, bettering the previous time of 3:51.0 set earlier that year by Filbert Bayi and becoming the first man to break 3:50.0 for the distance. Coincidentally, Walker's time was exactly 10 seconds faster than

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub- 4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

's historic first sub-four-minute mile of 3:59.4, run twenty-one years previously. He was named Athlete of the Year by ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

'' the same year. In the 1976 New Year Honours, Walker 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 athletics, especially as the first person to run the mile in less than 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Walker's new record lasted until 17 July 1979, when it was lowered by the Briton

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, incl ...

. The following year, Walker broke the world record for the 2000 metres, running 4:51.4 in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, on 30 June 1976. He smashed the ten-year-old existing record, held by

Michel Jazy Michel Jazy (13 June 1936 – 1 February 2024) was a French middle-distance runner and long-distance runner. He won the 1500 metres silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics, as well as two golds (in 1962 and 1966) and one silver (in 1966) at t ...

of France, by nearly five seconds. Walker regarded this run as the best race of his life. Steve Cram of Great Britain broke the record by one one-hundredth of a second on 4 August 1985, running 4:51.39 at

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Indoors, Walker broke the 1500 metre world record in 1979 with a time of 3:37.4.

1976 Montréal Olympic Games

In the 800 metres, Walker finished in 1:47.63, outside the two qualifying spots in his heat, and failed to advance to the semi-final round. However, Walker was the favourite in the 1500 metres due to the African boycott of the Games, which deprived the event of several strong competitors including Tanzania's Filbert Bayi, his main rival. The 1500 metres final started at a slow pace, with a first 800 metres in 2:03. The race would come down to a fast finish. In a bid to outlast runners who were quicker over shorter distances, Walker started his finishing sprint 300 metres from the finish. He was fading in the last 20 metres but held off Ivo Van Damme of Belgium and Paul-Heinz Wellmann of West Germany to win the gold medal. It later emerged that Bayi likely would not have competed because of an attack of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. In 1977, Walker saw his position as the world's top miler challenged by

Steve Ovett Stephen Michael James Ovett, (; born 9 October 1955) is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Ovett set five world records for 1500 metre ...

of Great Britain, who beat him in the IAAF World Cup 1500 metres.

New Zealand records

During 1981, Walker set a New Zealand all-comers' mile record of 3:50.6 in Auckland. In 1982 in

, Steve Scott (3:47.69), Walker (3:49.08), and Ray Flynn (3:49.77) took the top three spots in the Dream Mile, establishing American, New Zealand, and Irish national records for the mile in the same race. All three national records stood for 25 years until 21 July 2007, when Alan Webb broke Scott's American record. Walker and Flynn's times remain national records.

Later career

At the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

in Brisbane, Walker took the silver medal in the 1500 metres behind Steve Cram of Great Britain. He moved up to the 5000 metres distance for both the

1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

and the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

with limited success. He raced at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

, competing in both the 800 and 1500 metres; he was tripped early in the latter event but finished the race. The winner, Peter Elliott of Great Britain, persuaded Walker to accompany him on a lap of honor. In 1985, Walker became the first man in history to run 100 sub- 4 minute miles, achieving that feat just before his friend and rival Steve Scott of the United States. There was some controversy about this: Scott claimed that the two had agreed to reach 99 sub-4:00 miles apiece and then race each other, with the winner becoming the first to 100. Walker denied that such an agreement existed. As his career wore on, leg injuries and stomach cramps started to affect his training. In the early 1990s he aimed to be the first runner over 40 years of age to run a mile under four minutes, but his attempts failed due to a leg injury. His rival Eamonn Coghlan became the first to achieve this, in 1993. At this point his international career had shown unusual longevity, spanning almost two decades. Walker ended his racing career with 135 sub-four-minute miles. Walker was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the hall ...

in 1990, in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours he was promoted to

Commander 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 athletics, and in 1996, the International Olympic Committee awarded him the

Olympic Bronze Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Tradit ...

After running

In 1996, Walker announced that he was suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. He now operates an equestrian shop in Newmarket in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

with his wife, Helen. He was a

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not ...

Councillor, and then a councillor for the merged

. In 2016, Walker was reelected in the Manurewa-Papakura ward for a third consecutive term. He retired from public life at the 2019 local government elections. Walker and his wife have four children. In the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours, Walker was appointed

Knight Companion 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 (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

, for services to sport and the community.

References

External links

*
Page with Photo, one of two at ''Sporting Heroes''

;Video links
Video Interview of John Walker talking about his Olympic Win
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, John Living people 1952 births New Zealand male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand World record setters in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople awarded knighthoods Olympic athletes for New Zealand Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand New Zealand sportsperson-politicians Auckland Councillors Manukau City Councillors New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People from Papakura Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) People educated at Manurewa High School Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games New Zealand Athletics Championships winners 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics