Four-Minute Mile Clipped

Where greats of the calibre of Peter Snell had failed, Otago's Dick Tayler succeeded. And that was to better the magic four minutes for a mile on Nelson's Trafalgar Park. John Dixon set a fair pace for a couple of laps before dropping out. It was then up to Nelson's Rod Dixon and Tayler. Napier's Tony Pohill was never in it and over the last lap it was Tayler all the way. He won in 3min 59.1sec with Dixon second in 4min 2.2sec. The meeting was a tremendous success for the Nelson Club and for Trafalgar Park. Gavin Torley, Wellington, ran a fine 13min 40.2sec five hundred metres and other Wellington centre records were bettered.

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Francis Silke, Motueka, caused a surprise by winning the 100 metres in 10.6sec from Wellington champion Bevan Smith and Phil Kear

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Dick Tayler bursts into the tape to become the first athlete to beat four minutes for the mile on Trafalgar Park

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The pain of distance running is captured here as Rod Dixon finishes the mile

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Bryan Rose and Gavin Thoriey, members of the national crosscountry team, with Nelson's John Dixon, after the 5000 metres. Thorley won, Rose was second and Dixon third