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A gold medalist Peter Snell's 1960 Rome Olympics blazer, Webb's…
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Description:
A gold medalist Peter Snell's 1960 Rome Olympics blazer, Webb's is honoured to present for auction the blazer that New Zealand middle distance running gold medallist Peter Snell wore at the 1960 summer Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. This is an incredibly significant piece of New Zealand's sporting history that embodies a time in Olympic sport when comparative outsiders such as Snell could shock the world with their unexpected ascendancy. Acquired from Snell's ex-wife Sally sometime in the 1970s by the vendor, the blazer was subsequently under the care of the New Zealand Olympic Committee but has now returned to the market, at the 1960 summer Olympic Games, Snell set a national record for the men's 800-metre race, beating out Roger Moens of Belgium and George Kerr of the West Indies to take the gold. The surprise on Moens' face can be seen in the film of the event, as he turns in panic to see Snell overpowering him at the finish, after a break that took the kiwi from second-to-last place to first. This was to be the first of Snell's three gold medals in a short but incredibly impressive athletic career that lasted only five years, from 1960-65. Snell's subsequent performance at the 1964 Tokyo games was even more dominant, as he again took gold in the 800 metres, setting an Olympic record in the process, and cemented his legacy with a gold medal in the 1500 metres. He is the only man since 1920 to win gold at both the 800 and 1500 metres in the same Olympics, the 1960 Olympics came at the beginning of what was to be a tumultuous decade and was noteworthy for several reasons. Alongside Snell's double-gold-medal-winning performance, a young Cassius clay (the future world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali) won boxing gold for the United States in the light-heavyweight division, while Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won gold in the marathon, making him the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal (an even more impressive feat considering that he ran the race barefoot). Snell's blazer symbolises the spirit of this epoch when massive social and political changes were sweeping the globe and taking the sporting world along with them, the blazer itself is constructed of wool, has stainless steel buttons with embossed silver fern details and is cut in a traditional single-breasted style, with two pockets. It is embroidered with a silver fern motif on the left breast pocket, along with the Olympic rings and the text 'Rome 1960 Athletics.' this blazer transcends the status of mere sports memorabilia, rather, it reflects New Zealand's history as a nation whose achievements and influence on the international stage constantly transcend our small size.
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Category:
Memorabilia: Sporting - Olympics and Other Games