Richard Kevan Gosper, AO (19 December 1933 – 19 July 2024) was an Australian athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He was a Vice President of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

, and combined chairman and CEO of Shell Australia. Gosper died on 19 July 2024, at the age of 90.

Running career

Gosper ran for the Michigan State Spartans track and field team, finishing 4th in the 400 m at the 1955 NCAA track and field championships. Gosper competed for Australia in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

held in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, where he won the silver medal in the 4 × 400 metre relay with his teammates Graham Gipson, Leon Gregory and

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...

. Their run set a new Australian record of 3 min 6.2 sec.

International Olympic Committee

Gosper was nominated to the

in 1977; was a vice president of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG). He was chief of the IOC Press Commission, deputy chairman of the IOC Co-ordination Commission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, chairman of Olympic Games Knowledge Services and president of the Oceania National Olympic Committees. He was inaugural chairman of the Australian Institute of Sport 1980–1985, and president of the Australian Olympic Committee 1985–1990 and continued to serve on its executive board. From 1980 to 1993 Gosper was chairman and chief executive of Shell Australia in

, and later head of Shell Asia Pacific operations out of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The other positions he held include being chief commissioner of the City of Melbourne and chairman of the National Australia Day Council. He was a director of a number of Australian companies, including Crown Resorts, Visy and

Lion Nathan Lion is an alcoholic beverage company that operates in Australia and New Zealand, and a subsidiary of Japanese beverage conglomerate Kirin Company, Kirin. It produces and markets a range of beer and cider in Australia, and wine in New Zealan ...

. His autobiography, ''An Olympic Life'', was published in March 2000. In May 2000, Gosper was criticised after his daughter Sophie was made the first Australian torchbearer in a late change over the previously selected Greek-Australian Yianna Souleles. At age 11, Sophie Gosper was too young by one year to carry the torch in Australia, but was invited by the Hellenic Olympic Committee to be the second carrier of the Olympic flame in Greece. Gosper apologised days later due to public outrage, though he insisted he was not involved in the decision. He was accused of being an "apologist for dictators" after his criticism of pro-democracy protesters during the Beijing 2008 torch relay. He suggested that during the Olympic Torch Australian appearance Chinese para-military torch attendants could be called into action if Australian police were unable to cope with potential protests. His remarks prompted a swift rebuke from Australian Attorney-General Robert McClelland.

Honours

Gosper was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO) in the 1986 Australia Day Honours for service to sport and sports administration, and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1989. He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for services to athletics and the Olympic movement, and was similarly honoured by France, the Netherlands, Spain, Monaco and Senegal and Solomon Islands.

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gosper, Kevan 1933 births 2024 deaths Australian male sprinters Australian Olympic Committee administrators Australian International Olympic Committee members Australian sports executives and administrators Olympic silver medalists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia People educated at Newcastle Boys' High School Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Shell plc people Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Australian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Australian sportsmen Michigan State Spartans men's track and field athletes Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics