Rod Dixon was arguably the most versatile runner produced by New Zealand. Among his accomplishments:

· A bronze medal in the 1972 Olympic 1500m.

· Two third placings in the world cross-country champs.

· Victory in the 1983 New York marathon.

· Five years in the early 1980s when he was the No 1 runner on the competitive and lucrative American road racing circuit.

· A 17-year span as a New Zealand representative.

Despite such feats, the tall, angular Dixon became nearly as famous for his near-misses. In 1974 at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games, he ran the fifth fastest 1500m of all time, 3min 33.89s. Yet he finished out of the medals as Filbert Bayi and John Walker in front both went under Jim Ryun's previous world mark.

At the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, he took part in one of the greatest races in Games history, but finished only 4th in the 5000m, deprived of a medal by the unmatchable Lasse Viren, his fellow New Zealander Dick Quax and the desperate last-metre dive of German Klaus-Peter Hildenbrand.

In 1978 he was in superlative form but was denied the chance to really challenge Henry Rono for the Edmonton Commonwealth Games 5000m gold medal when someone stole his gear bag before the race. He eventually ran in borrowed shoes, having had no time to warm up or stretch, and battled inner turmoil while finishing 8th, 20 seconds behind Rono. He shed tears of frustration afterwards.

In 1980 he missed out on the Moscow Olympics because of the American-led boycott.

Dixon was always a colourful and extroverted character. He certainly needed some self-belief when he turned up at his first Olympics, in Munich, in 1972, a fresh-faced 21-year-old on only his second trip outside New Zealand.

"I didn't have a great qualifying time for the 1500m. I was ranked 47th in the world. In my heat, with the first two to qualify, were Jim Ryun and Kip Keino. This was pretty daunting.

"Jim Ryun was the world record-holder and a legend. Kip Keino was the defending Olympic champion and the first of the great African track runners. I'd had their colour posters on my bedroom wall in Nelson for years.

"There I was standing on the start line for my first heat in Munich and on my right was Keino and on my left was Ryun. There was confusion over Ryun's Olympic qualifying time – a mile time instead of a 1500m time was submitted. It left the two of them in one race and people like me with what you would have to say was an uphill battle!

"During the race Jim tripped and fell. His foot brushed against my right calf. I finished the heat running stride for stride with Keino and qualified for the semi-final.”

Dixon ran 3min 40s, which was astonishing considering his previous best was 3min 42s-plus.

"In the semis it was another really strong field, but I felt very confident and with 110 metres to go there I was at the front with Pekka Vasala.” Dixon finished the semi with the fastest time, 3min 37.9s.

"I keyed in on Keino for the final and wanted to make sure I used my strength by ensuring the third lap was tough. The race went pretty well and with 110 metres to go I was going okay, still close to Keino. Then Mike Boit [of Kenya] went past and I was pushed back to fourth. I ran wide around the bend and passed Boit, so I was back into a medal position.

"Up the home straight I realised that while I would never catch Vasala, I was gaining on the great Keino. Vasala had too big a lead, but it was a shock to realise I'd been closing in on him.

"I finished the race with my arms thrust in the air in triumph. There's a world of difference between third and fourth.

"On the victory dais I could still hardly believe what had happened. I was in shock, and I was so happy I had tears in my eyes. A newspaper heading said, ‘Dixon in Wonderland', and that's what the whole experience was like for me."

Dixon turned up for the 1984 Olympics as one of the marathon favourites, after winning the New York marathon the previous year. He was exceedingly well known in the US because of his devastating running on the American road racing circuit, where his strength and speed often proved unbeatable.

In the Olympic marathon, he was not quite up with the leaders, but his time of 2min 12.57s was good enough for 10th, a place of honour.

Dixon was also a superb cross-country runner, renowned for his pace uphill. He was 3rd in the individual event in Belgium in 1973 and again in Italy in 1982, besides winning a national road title in 1977. He also won national titles over 10,000m in 1981, 1500m in 1978, and 5000m from 1978-81.

After retiring, he was Race Director of the Auckland Round the Bays Run and Director of the Sovereign Mile series as well as being Director of Training and Coaching for the Los Angeles Marathon for 10 years.

Dixon was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

Rod Dixon

Medals

Biography

Fast facts