John Brown (7 January 1916 – 12 April 1990) was a New Zealand cyclist who won a silver medal at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 ye ...

Biography

Born in

Lesmahagow Lesmahagow ( ; sco, Lismahagie or ''Lesmahagae'', gd, Lios MoChuda) is a small town in the historic county of Lanarkshire on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a civil parish. It lies west o ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

, Scotland, on 7 January 1916, Brown was the son of Elizabeth Pearson Stewart and her husband John Brown, a coalminer. After the family emigrated to New Zealand, Brown took up the sport of cycling in 1932 when he joined the Manukau Amateur Cycling Club in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. He finished third in his first race, and second-fastest in his next race three weeks later. Less than two months after starting competitive junior cycling, Brown was riding off scratch and winning races. The following season, he joined the senior ranks. In October 1934, Brown won the Auckland provincial 100-mile road-race championship, completing the 105-mile course from

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a M� ...

to Ngāruawāhia and back in a time of 5:10:38. In 1937, he recorded a race record time of 4:28:25 in winning the same event. Three weeks later, he won the North Island amateur 100-mile road title, riding the race from

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in a time of 4:38:17.4. In November 1937, Brown was selected as one of New Zealand's three representatives in the road race at the 1938 British Empire Games in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. In that event, he finished second, half a wheel behind the gold medalist,

Hennie Binneman Hennie Binneman (30 April 1914 – 19 March 1968) was a South African cyclist. He competed in the individual road race event at the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially k ...

of South Africa. On 18 February 1939, Brown married Meryla Bruford Webb at St Peter's Anglican church, Onehunga. The couple went on to have two children. Brown died on 12 April 1990.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, John 1916 births 1990 deaths People from Lesmahagow Scottish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand male cyclists Cyclists at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games