- Pat Boot
MedalSport | Men's Athletics MedalCountry | NZL MedalCompetition|
Commonwealth Games Vernon Patrick (Pat) Boot (
22 October 1914 –5 January 1947 ) was aNew Zealand middle distance runner from Canterbury, who representedNew Zealand at the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin and at the 1938 British Empire Games at Sydney.At the
1936 Summer Olympics he ran in the 800 meters, finishing last in the semi-final. He had tendon problems (likeCecil Matthews , who also had a disappointing result at Berlin) from running on the decks of the Wanganella, and withdrew from the fourth heat of the 1500 meters.At the
1938 British Empire Games he won a gold in the 880 yards with a tremendous sprint 70 yards from the end, and a bronze in the mile.He was born at
Kaikoura and educated at Ashburton High School,Timaru Boys' High School andLincoln University , where he trained for a diploma in agriculture. In World War II he was commissioned in theNew Zealand Army and served overseas in the Middle East. He was an instructor in agriculture at Gisborne when he died aged 32 when under anaesthesia for dental treatment.External links
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/Gov12_12Rail-fig-Gov12_12Rail038a.html Photo of V. P. Boot running with a "splendid style" c1938]
References
*"New Zealand Sporting Legends: 27 Pre-War Sporting Heroes" by Neville McMillan, pages 14-20 (1993, Moa Beckett, Auckland) ISBN 1-96958-013-1
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