Murray Halberg was almost killed in an accident while playing football.
(a) Who is Murray Halberg? How old was he when the accident happened?
(b) How bad was the accident?
Answers
Answer:
(a) One of the greatest runners of this century, Murray Halberg, winner of the 5000-metre race at the Rome Olympic Games in 1960, was almost killed in an accident while playing football. He was only 16 then. His left arm was so badly damaged that the arm remained paralyzed for the rest of his life.
(b) Playing rugby as a 17-year-old, New Zealand runner Murray Halberg injured his left shoulder in a tackle; his left arm was paralyzed. Contact sports were now out of the question, but he was still able to run, holding his limp left arm “tucked up, pumping myself along with my right.” (A Clean Pair of Heels, 24) His local running coach saw Halberg’s potential, so he asked Arthur Lydiard to take over the coaching. Lydiard, who had not yet achieved his worldwide reputation, saw “astonishing tenacity” in his new pupil. (Arthur Lydiard, Master Coach, 43)
One of the greatest runners of this century, Murray Halberg, winner of the 5000-metre race at the Rome Olympic Games in 1960, was almost killed in an accident while playing football. He was only 16 then. His left arm was so badly damaged that the arm remained paralysed for the rest of his life. Halberg was born in New Zealand. After his accident, he gave up football and took to athletics. In 1951 Arthur Lydiard became his coach. In 1956, Olympics were to be held in Melbourne in Australia and Halberg prepared seriously for the 1500-meter race. But he finished eleventh out of 12 runners. He was completely disappointed. In the end, he decided that he would make another attempt. Now 23, Halberg changed himself from a human being into a running machine. 1960 came and Lydiard took him to Rome for the Olympics. Halberg was now 27, the age at which Lydiard had said he would reach his peak as a runner. He reached the final of the 5000-meter race without much effort. As the final began, all the runners were ready. The 60,000 people in the stadium never took notice of him; he was far behind them. Eight laps later, he began to overtake the other runners one by one. There were three laps for the end of the race, but Halberg was sprinting with unbelievable strength. The people wondered, “Doesn’t he know how many laps are left?” With two laps left, Halberg had a clear 18-metre lead. One lap to go with Halberg still in the lead. But he was clearly becoming weak. His head was rolling from side to side and his teeth were bared in pain. Hans Grodotski, a German, was catching up with Halberg. Now Halberg was not fighting the others, but only against himself. His body was crying out for rest. His body said that Grodotski or anyone else could have the race. But his mind did not allow the body to win. He could now see the White tape at the finishing line. Halberg prepared himself for the least effort, in case Grodotski overtook him. But Grodotski never did. Halberg fell into the tape and rolled to the ground. Halberg’s friends gathered around the fallen body. Their minds were full of anxiety. But there was that faint smile on his face.Read more on Sarthaks.com - https://www.sarthaks.com/581461/greatest-runners-this-century-murray-halberg-winner-5000-metre-race-rome-olympic-games-1960