28 May 2018

Dick Quax part of NZ's 'heritage' - Peter Snell

From Checkpoint, 5:35 pm on 28 May 2018

Olympic gold medalist Sir Peter Snell has reflected on his friendship with silver medallist Dick Quax, who has died aged 70.

New Zealand running legend Quax died after a long battle with cancer.

Quax, who claimed a silver medal in the 5000m at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, was aged 70.

The former world record-holder died at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital on Monday morning, the Mayor of Auckland's office confirmed.

Alongside Sir John Walker and Rod Dixon, Dick Quax was a prominent figure in what was a golden era for New Zealand distance running in the 1970s.

Sir Peter Snell.

Sir Peter Snell. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

His former neighbour and running legend Peter Snell spoke to Checkpoint about the great achievements of Quax and his devastation at his friend's death.

"I'm really sad about Dick, I think he has been an important part of New Zealand's legacy in distance and middle distance running," Snell said.

"He was clearly an outstanding runner - he was trained under the [Arthur] Lydiard model by John Davies.

"He was a neighbour of mine for a time in Mt Albert, Auckland, he actually lived directly across the street from me," Snell recalled.

"Dick is really an important part of New Zealand heritage.

"Not many people can boast what he has, a world record in 5000m."

Snell said memories of Quax and his charismatic persona were still vivid in his mind.

"Dick was a fun guy to be around, a good sense of humour and he obviously had a good brain, he was a smart guy," Snell said.

Quax's commitment to the sport was second to none and Snell recalled the effort they had to put in to achieve their goals.

"When I think about the amount of time we spent getting to that level, it was kind of amazing, and in some ways we sacrificed other aspects of our life to be able to do it, but high-achievers are prepared to do that and pay that price of minimising your social life," Snell said.

"[Training] got pretty boring after a while but [I was] driven, as Dick was, knowing that this was what you had to do to get the results.