Merv Richards
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Mervyn David Richards | |||||||||||
| Born | 16 November 1930 Oamaru, New Zealand | |||||||||||
| Died | 1 July 2018 (aged 87) | |||||||||||
| Spouse | Winnie Garrod (m. 1958) | |||||||||||
| Relative | Deborah Hurst (daughter) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Country | New Zealand | |||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||
| Event | Pole vault | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| National finals | Pole vault champion (1952–1962) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Mervyn David Richards (16 November 1930 – 1 July 2018) was a New Zealand pole vaulter, who represented his country at three British Empire and Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal in 1958. He went on to become a successful coach in both pole vault and gymnastics.[1]
Early life and family
Born in Oamaru on 16 November 1930, Richards was the youngest child of David Llewellyn Richards and Hephzibah Richards (née Mears).[1] After leaving Oamaru, the family lived briefly in Waitati, before moving to Dunedin where Richards was educated at King Edward Technical College.[1] When he was 16 years old, he began training as an optical technician, and worked in that occupation until he retired.[1]
In 1958, Richards married Margaret Winifred Garrod—who won the national women's javelin title in 1957 and 1958—at Mosgiel Anglican church.[1][2] The couple went on to have three children, including Deborah Hurst who won a bronze medal in gymnastics at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.[1]
Pole vault
Competitor
Richards won the New Zealand national pole vault title 11 years in succession, from 1952 to 1962.[2] He also represented New Zealand in the pole vault at three consecutive British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1950 to 1958.[3] At the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland, he finished eighth with a height of 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m).[4] Four years later, at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, he cleared 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) to finish in fifth place.[4] Finally, at the 1958 games in Cardiff, he won the bronze medal after a countback, with a vault of 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m).[1][4]
Coach
Richards was a successful pole vault coach in Dunedin, training a number of national champions, including 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games representative Kevin Gibbons.[1] He also provided technical advice to Melina Hamilton while she was a student at the University of Otago in the late 1990s.[1]
Gymnastics coach
Richards became a gymnastics coach at the Athlon club in Dunedin, and trained Rowena Davis and his daughter Deborah, who were a part of the New Zealand women's team that won the bronze medal in the all-around competition at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.[1] He was subsequently appointed head coach of the New Zealand gymnastics team for the 1980 Summer Olympics, but the team did not complete because of the boycott that year.[1]
Later life and death
Richards became an enthusiastic lapidarist, and won the New Zealand Lapidary Cup in 1986 and 2011.[1] He died on 1 July 2018.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cheshire, Jeff (25 August 2018). "Pole vault trailblazer the 'founder' of the sport in NZ". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ a b Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. pp. 46–47. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ "Merv Richards". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ a b c "Mervyn Richards". Commonwealth Games Federation. 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.