Pat Boot
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Vernon Patrick Boot | |||||||||||||||
| Born |
22 October 1914 Kaikoura, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||
| Died |
15 January 1947 (aged 32) Gisborne, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||
| National finals |
880 yards champion (1936, 1938, 1939, 1940) 1 mile champion (1936) | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Vernon Patrick "Pat" Boot (22 October 1914 – 15 January 1947) was a New Zealand middle distance runner from Canterbury, who represented New 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 metre event, finishing last in the semi-final. He had tendon problems (like Cecil 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 metres.
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.
Boot won five New Zealand athletics titles: the 880 yards in 1936, 1938, 1939, and 1940; and the 1 mile in 1936.[1]
He was born at Kaikoura and educated at Ashburton High School, Timaru Boys' High School and Canterbury Agricultural College, where he trained for a diploma in agriculture. In World War II he was commissioned in the New 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. He was buried at Taruheru Cemetery, Gisborne.[2]
External links
References
- ↑ Hollings, Stephen (January 2015). "National champions 1887–2014" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ↑ "Cemetery record search". Gisborne District Council. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- McMillan, Neville (1993). New Zealand Sporting Legends: 27 Pre-War Sporting Heroes. Auckland: Moa Beckett. pp. 14–20. ISBN 1-869580-14-1.