Name Cecil Matthews | ||
Cecil matthews t bird s last run samoa drag strip 06 11
Cecil Henry Matthews (13 October 1914 – 8 November 1987) was a New Zealand long distance runner from Canterbury, who represented New Zealand at the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin and New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games at Sydney.
At the 1936 Summer Olympics he was eliminated from the 5000 metre event, finishing eighth in his heat, and was scratched from the 10,000 metres. He had tendon problems (like Pat Boot, who also had a disappointing result at Berlin), from running on the decks of the Wanganella.
At the 1938 British Empire Games he won two gold medals, in the three-mile (5 km) race where he beat Peter Ward, and the six-mile (10 km) event (although he had no experience at this distance, which did not appear on the New Zealand programme until 1948).
Matthews twice won the New Zealand national 3 miles title, in 1936 and 1938.
He was born in Christchurch. He served in the Air Force in World War II, then moved to Auckland where he died.