- Ralph Doubell
Ralph Douglas Doubell AM (born 11 February 1945) is an Australian former athlete, and gold medallist at the
1968 Summer Olympics .Biography
Born in
Melbourne , Ralph Doubell had a relatively short international athletics career, but he managed to reach his peak at just the right time and in just the right place - anOlympic Games final.Doubell was a graduate from the
University of Melbourne , where he had come under the tutelage of legendary Austrian-born coachFranz Stampfl . Doubell's first major international victory in 800 metres was at theWorld Student Games in Tokyo in 1967 in a time of 1:46.7. His next season (the Olympic season) was severely curtailed byAchilles' tendon injuries, and he was unable to compete for six months prior to the Olympic Games in Mexico City.In Mexico, the overwhelming favourite in the Olympic 800 m final was
Wilson Kiprugut ofKenya who led the field through 400 m in 51.0, and was still leading at the home turn, where Doubell made his move, passing Kiprugut down the straight to win the gold medal in aworld record equalling time of 1:44.3. This time is notable for the fact that no Australian male has yet been able to equal this time, and the time has stood as the Australian record for almost four decades. Doubell had planned to compete at the 1972 Olympics inMunich , but was prevented by calf injuries, which hastened his retirement.After retirement from sports Doubell worked as a Head of Relationship Management and a Director and Divisional Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking of the Deutsche Bank Group in Australia. He was a Director of
Telstra Stadium in Sydney until 2007.On 12 June 2006, in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, he was made a Member (AM) of the
Order of Australia , for "services to athletics through administrative roles, particularly withAthletics New South Wales , and as a competitor".References
* [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/do/ralph-doubell-1.html sports-reference]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/sportsf/stories/s226388.htm The Sports Factor - Ralph Doubell & Franz Stampfl]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
