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Story: Athletics

Jack Lovelock

In 1933 New Zealander Jack Lovelock broke the world mile record at Princeton University in the United States with a time of four minutes 7.6 seconds. This cartoon, which was published in the New York Sun newspaper, describes him as a 'modern mercury' – a reference to the Roman god Mercury, a messenger with winged sandals.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, John Edward (Jack) Lovelock Papers (MS-Group-0012)

Reference: MSX-2247-058

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

David Colquhoun, Athletics – The sport of athletics, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/39917/jack-lovelock (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Colquhoun, published 30 November 2012, updated 20 September 2016.