Australian running legend Ron Clarke dies aged 78

SYDNEY: Australian athletics Wednesday mourned the loss of champion distance runner Ron Clarke at the age of 78.
Largely self-coached, Clarke never won an Olympic gold medal despite officially breaking 17 world records and at one point holding records for every distance from two miles to 20 kilometres.
“Today is a very sad day for athletics in Australia, with news of the passing of legendary runner Ron Clarke after a battle with illness,” Athletics Australia president David Grace said.
Clarke, who died after an unspecified illness, competed at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo where he won a bronze medal in the 10,000m, and came ninth in both the 5,000m and marathon.
At the peak of his career the following year, he set 12 world records, nine of them in the space of 21 days, and was a favourite to win Olympic gold.
Yet he could not repeat his performances at the 1968 Games in Mexico at high altitude.
He finished sixth in the gruelling 10,000m almost unconscious from lack of oxygen, collapsing on the line and suffering heart damage.
Clarke recovered sufficiently to compete in the 5,000m a few days later, but came fifth.
The Australian Olympic Committee said Clarke was also involved in one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship on an athletics track when he tripped and fell during the Australian mile championship in 1956. Fellow runner John Landy, who had been close behind, had to leap out of Clarke’s way.