Vol. 4 No. 16 Dave Power , Australia, 10,000 Meters Bronze at Rome RIP

 Feb 2, 2014

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      Dave Power, Aussie Distance Great Passes On

 

10,000 Meters Rome 1960
Bolotnikov 559, Grodotski 272, Dave Power 13, Destyachekov 560

Dave Power has passed away after a long illness. Nathan Evans,   The Noosa News.   Feb. 4, 2014

DAVE Power, the man credited with founding the world-renowned Noosa Triathlon, has passed away after a long illness.
He was 85.
Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1999, Mr Power was an Olympic bronze and Commonwealth gold medallist in long distance running.
But his legacy will be the Noosa Triathlon which is now recognised as one of the sport's premier international events.
Former Olympic boxer and compere of Noosa Triathlon, Benny Pike, was a good friend of Mr Power and said he would remember him as a brilliant athlete and great bloke.
"Dave's original idea was for Noosa to have a marathon, but he and others worked on the idea of it becoming a triathlon, and just look how big it's become today," Mr Pike said. "Dave was extremely proud of the event and me and many others had enormous admiration for him."

Albie Thomas  and Dave Power in action on the track.   Both men have passed

away in the last six months.

Mr Power represented Australia at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympic Games, winning bronze in the 10,000m event in Italy.
He won gold in both the marathon and six-mile events at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, and silver in the same distances at the 1962 Commonwealths in Perth.
Fellow runner and friend Jim Woodriff said things were very different in the era when Mr Power was competing.
"Dave was a bank teller at the time and had to take leave without pay to represent Australia," he said.
Mr Woodriff shared a story from the 1956 Melbourne Olympics when another athlete, disappointed at his result, threw away his shoes in the team's locker room.
"Dave asked if he could have them as they were better than his. He wore them for the next two years, including for his two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1958."
In sporting retirement, he said Mr Power mentored Olympic gold medallist Herb Elliott and remained close to him and other Australian greats.

"Dave was very highly regarded as a competitor, and as a gentleman: he was old school," Mr Woodriff said.
Executive chairman of USM Events, Garth Prowd, who is responsible for organising the Noosa Triathlon today, described Mr Power as "a little dynamo".
"His athletic career proved how dedicated, committed and unbelievably tough he was, and he was the inspiration for starting the Noosa Triathlon originally," he said.
Mr Power had a passion for his community and took great pride in what the Noosa Triathlon had become.
Born in Maitland, NSW, he moved to the Sunshine Coast in the early 1980s, but hip problems caused by his athletics career prevented him from running in later life. He is survived by his wife Heather, five daughters, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Marathon runner dave Power has died after a long illness. Source: News Limited

DISTANCE running star Dave Power died yesterday, aged 85, after a long illness.

Power competed at the Melbourne and Rome Olympics, winning bronze in the 10,000m in 1960.
He also won the marathon and the six-mile events at the 1958 Commonwealth Games and silver in each event in Perth four years later.
He won 10 national titles in over three miles, six miles and cross-country and was regarded as one of the toughest runners Australia had produced.
He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1999.



Commonwealth Empire Games 1958
Cardiff , Wales
6 miles  podium
left. Arere Anentia (Kenya) 3rd 28:51.48
center Dave Power (Australia) 1st 28:48.16
right John Merriman (Wales) 3rd 28:48.84

Power on top of the podium at the 1958 Commonwealth Games. Source: News Limited