Mervyn David Richards (16 November 1930 – 1 July 2018) was a New Zealand

pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ...

, who represented his country at three British Empire and Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. He went on to become a successful coach in both pole vault and gymnastics.

Early life and family

Born in Oamaru on 16 November 1930, Richards was the youngest child of David Llewellyn Richards and Hephzibah Richards (née Mears). After leaving Oamaru, the family lived briefly in Waitati, before moving to Dunedin where Richards was educated at King Edward Technical College. When he was 16 years old, he began training as an optical technician, and worked in that occupation until he retired. In 1958, Richards married Margaret Winifred Garrod—who won the national women's javelin title in 1957 and 1958—at Mosgiel Anglican church. The couple went on to have three children, including Deborah Hurst who won a bronze medal in gymnastics at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

Pole vault

Competitor

Richards won the New Zealand national pole vault title 11 years in succession, from 1952 to 1962. He also represented New Zealand in the pole vault at three consecutive British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1950 to 1958. At the

1950 Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

in Auckland, he finished eighth with a height of . Four years later, at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, he cleared to finish in fifth place. Finally, at the 1958 games in Cardiff, he won the bronze medal after a countback, with a vault of .

Coach

Richards was a successful pole vault coach in Dunedin, training a number of national champions, including

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. The ...

representative Kevin Gibbons. He also provided technical advice to

Melina Hamilton Melina Dawn Hamilton (born 15 June 1976 in Rotorua) is a retired New Zealand athlete who specialised in the pole vault. She represented her country at the 2004 Summer Olympics, as well as two World Championships, without reaching the final. Her ...

while she was a student at the University of Otago in the late 1990s.

Gymnastics coach

Richards became a gymnastics coach at the Athlon club in Dunedin, and trained Rowena Davis and his daughter Deborah, who were a part of the New Zealand women's team that won the bronze medal in the all-around competition at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He was subsequently appointed head coach of the New Zealand gymnastics team for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, but the team did not complete because of the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

that year.

Later life and death

Richards became an enthusiastic lapidarist, and won the New Zealand Lapidary Cup in 1986 and 2011. He died on 1 July 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Merv 1930 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Oamaru People educated at King Edward Technical College New Zealand male pole vaulters Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics New Zealand athletics coaches Gymnastics coaches Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games New Zealand Athletics Championships winners