Story: Athletics

Roadside Stories: a world record at Cooks Gardens (2nd of 2)

In a 1962 race at Cooks Gardens in Whanganui, Peter Snell was aiming to run a mile in under four minutes for the first time. But he did better than that – he broke the world record. Listen to this Roadside Story to hear his own fascinating account of the race.

Roadside Stories is a series of audio guides to places around New Zealand.

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How to cite this page:

David Colquhoun, 'Athletics - The golden era begins, 1950 to 1969', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/39958/roadside-stories-a-world-record-at-cooks-gardens (accessed 16 April 2024)

Story by David Colquhoun, published 5 Sep 2013, updated 20 Sep 2016