Raymond Leslie Puckett (born 17 December 1935) is a former New Zealand distance runner, who represented his country at the Olympic Games in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and at the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

. Coached by Arthur Lydiard, Puckett was the first New Zealander to complete a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

in under two hours and 30 minutes.

Early life and family

Puckett was born on 17 December 1935 in Gillingham,

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England, the son of Marjorie Sybil Puckett (née Cox), a New Zealander, and her husband, Maurice Leslie Puckett, a lieutenant in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. He was brought back to New Zealand when he was one year old, travelling on the '' Rangitane''. His parents both died in October 1952.

Athletics

Puckett was 18 years old when he began being coached by Arthur Lydiard, who saw potential in Puckett as a marathon runner. Puckett went on to win five national marathon titles, in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964 and 1965. He was the first New Zealander to complete a marathon in under two hours 30 minutes, and his personal best time for the distance of 2:17:38 was recorded in winning the 1964 national championship. At the

in Cardiff, Puckett competed in the men's six-mile race, finishing 12th, and in the marathon, placing 14th. Competing in the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Puckett finished in 51st place in a time of 2:37:36. Four years later in the same event at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, he ran 2:27:34 to finish 27th.

Later life

Following an accident in about 1997, Puckett was forced to give up running. However, he was selected as a torchbearer for the

2000 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay was the transferral of the Olympic Flame to Sydney, Australia, that built up to the 2000 Summer Olympics. The torch travelled to various island nations as part of a tour of Oceania before beginning an exten ...

. Puckett became an accomplished croquet player, winning the doubles title at the North Island championships in 1998, and is one of the three leading makers of croquet mallets in New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puckett, Ray 1935 births Living people People from Gillingham, Dorset Sportspeople from Dorset New Zealand male marathon runners Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics New Zealand croquet players