Ron Clarke
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Ron Clarke AO, MBE |
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| Mayor of the Gold Coast | |
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In office 25 March 2004 – 27 February 2012 |
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| Deputy | Daphne McDonald |
| Preceded by | Gary Baildon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ronald William Clarke 21 February 1937 Melbourne, Victoria |
| Died | 17 June 2015 (aged 78) Southport, Queensland |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Clarke |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Personal information | |
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| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 72 kg (159 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | 5000, 10,000 m, marathon |
| Club | Glenhuntly Athletics Club |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | 5000 m – 13:16.6 (1966) 10,000 m – 27:39.89 (1965) Marathon – 2:20:26 (1964) |
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Medal record
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Ronald William "Ron" Clarke, AO, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.
Clarke was born 21 February 1937 in Melbourne, Victoria. He attended Essendon High School and Melbourne High School. His brother Jack Clarke and father Tom played Australian rules football in the Victorian Football League with Essendon. He was a qualified accountant.
In 1956, when Clarke was still a promising 19-year-old, he was chosen to light the Olympic Flame in the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the opening ceremonies of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
During the 1960s Clarke won 9 Australian championships and 12 Victorian track championships ranging from 1500 m to 6 miles (9.7 km).
He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metre (m) race at the 1964 Summer Olympics when he was upset by Billy Mills, and never won an Olympic gold medal. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Clarke collapsed and nearly died from altitude sickness sustained during the gruelling 10,000 m race final. Despite training in the Alps to get acclimatised to high altitudes at Mexico City, this could not put him on par with many opponents from Africa, who had always run at high altitude (with the notable exception of 5,000 m gold medalist and 10,000 m bronze medalist Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia, who was born and lived not far above sea level). Clarke finished in sixth place, but remembered nothing of the last lap. He sufficiently recovered to compete in the 5,000 metre heats a few days later.
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