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Ron Clarke was an Australian distance runner, who lit the Olympic flame at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Between 1963 and 1968, he set 17 world records over distances ranging from 2 miles to the 1 hour run, but never won an Olympic gold medal—prompting Czech athlete, Emil Zátopek in 1968, to give him one of his own gold medals.
Ronald William 'Ron' Clarke was born on 21st February 1937 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was the second son of Thomas Clarke and Annie Miller. He attended Essendon Primary School, Essendon High School and Melbourne High School. He graduated from the University of Melbourne as an accountant. Whilst his father and older brother played Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League with Essendon, Ron joined the Glenhuntly Athletic Club and became a notable competitor from a young age. When still a promising 19-year-old, Ron was chosen to light the Olympic Flame in the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the opening ceremonies of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. [1]
In 1959 in Victoria, Ron married Helen Grace Louise Woolley. [2]
Ron won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres race at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Four years later in Mexico City, despite training in the Alps to get acclimatised to high altitudes, he was unable to match the pace of his opponents from Africa, finishing sixth in the 10,000m. In the 1962 British Empire Games (now the Commonwealth Games), he won silver in the 3 mile (4.8 km) event, and in the 1966 Games he won silver medals in the 3 miles and 6 miles (9.7 km) events. He never managed to win a gold medal at either the Olympic or Commonwealth Games. Ron is most famous for having set 17 world records during his career. During the 1960s, he won nine Australian championships and twelve Victorian track championships ranging from 1,500m to 6 miles.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1966, Ron was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). [3]
On 14th July 2000 he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in recognition of his 'significant contribution as a competitor (Athletics)'. [4] He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for 'distinguished service to the eco-tourism industry'. [5]
Ron was elected Mayor of the City of the Gold Coast, serving in that capacity from 2004 to 2012.
Between 1966 and 2004 Ron wrote or co-authored twelve books.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2013 for 'distinguished service to the community through a range of leadership roles with local government and philanthropic organisations, and to the promotion of athletics'. [6]
Ron passed away of kidney failure, aged 78 years, on 17th June 2015 in Allamanda Hospital, Southport, Queensland. [7]. He is survived by his wife Helen and sons Marcus and Nicolas. His daughter Monique died of breast cancer in 2009.
Featured German connections: Ron is 25 degrees from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 22 degrees from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 30 degrees from Lucas Cranach, 27 degrees from Stefanie Graf, 24 degrees from Wilhelm Grimm, 26 degrees from Fanny Hensel, 30 degrees from Theodor Heuss, 19 degrees from Alexander Mack, 38 degrees from Carl Miele, 21 degrees from Nathan Rothschild, 24 degrees from Hermann Friedrich Albert von Ihering and 25 degrees from Ferdinand von Zeppelin on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
C > Clarke > Ronald William Clarke AO MBE
Categories: University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria | Queensland, Mayors | Australia, Non-Fiction Authors | Members of the Order of the British Empire | Officers of the Order of Australia | Australian Sports Medal | Centenary Medal (Australia) | Sport Australia Hall of Fame | BBC Sports Personality of the Year | Olympic Bronze Medalists | Olympians Representing Australia | 1956 Olympic Summer Games | 1964 Olympic Summer Games | 1968 Olympic Summer Games | Track and Field | Australia, Athletics | Australia, Notables in Sport | Notables