| Brief Description |
This silver trophy sports the figure of New Zealand's most famous runner, Peter Snell. He is depicted winning the World Record Mile in 3 minutes and 54.40 seconds at Cooks Gardens in Whanganui on 27 January 1962.
The silver figure is set on a square silver base alongside the brass shell casing from the starting gun that began his world record run. The trophy is attached to a black bakelite base with a stepped octagonal foot.
A small silver plate is inscribed with "THIS CARTRIDGE / STARTED PETER / ON HIS / WORLD RECORD MILE / 3M.59.90 / COOKS GARDENS / WANGANUI 27.1.62".
Another silver plate is inscribed with "Presented To / MR. & MRS. / GEORGE SNELL / By The / WANGANUI / AMATEUR ATHLETIC / CYCLING CLUB." Mr and Mrs Snell were, of course, Peter Snell's parents. His mother gave the trophy to an old family friend, who later donated it to the Whanganui Regional Museum.
Sir Peter George Snell, KNZM and OBE, was a New Zealand middle-distance runner. He won three Olympic gold medals, and is the only man since 1920 to win the 800 and 1500 metres at the same Olympics, in 1964. He also won two Commonwealth Games gold medals set several world records. Sir Peter became a member of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall Of Fame in 2012.
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