Rodney Fairfax Bonella (19 June 1937 – 2 April 2000) was an Australian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

and

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

. He came third in the marathon event at the

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 ...

Running career

Bonella attended

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is an independent school, independent Presbyterian Day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, Victoria, Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Aus ...

, where he ran the mile and half-mile events, and was also a

cross-country runner Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

. He was part of the school's 4 x 880 yard relay team that set an

Associated Public Schools of Victoria The Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS) are a group of eleven independent schools in Victoria, Australia, similar to the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales in New South Wales and the Public Schools Ass ...

(APS) record. In the 1960s, Bonella was trained by

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final ...

, and trained alongside fellow Australian athletes

Ron Clarke Ronald William Clarke, AO, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable fo ...

Trevor Vincent Trevor Anthony Vincent, (born 27 April 1938) is a former Australian long-distance runner, specialising in the 3000 metres steeplechase. In 1962 he competed for his native country at the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia, winning ...

and Tony Cook. In 1962, Bonella came second in the Australian National Marathon Championships, behind

Keith Ollerenshaw Keith Ollerenshaw (28 September 1928 – 15 March 2016) was an Australian long-distance runner who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international ...

. He was competing for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

state. Bonella was selected for the marathon event at the

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, Australia. He came third in the race, finishing in a time of 2:24:07. Bonella fell behind the leading two runners with to go in the race, and suffered with

dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mi ...

until the end of the race. In 1963, he competed in local

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

, one mile, three mile and six miles events. In 1965, Bonella won an APS Old Boys' cross-country event. Bonella retired from running in 1967, to focus on his horse training career.

Horse training career

Bonella started training horses in 1957, when he imported the horse Caynham from the United Kingdom. In 1965, Bonella bought Amourrou, a horse which had won the 1965

Churchill Stakes The Churchill Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Lingfield Park in Nov ...

. Amourrou was the grandson of legendary American horse

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...

. Later in the year, Amourrou produced a foal that was the first horse born in Australia to be directly descended from Man o' War. In the 1970s, Bonella earned a licence to become a horse owner and trainer. From 1978 to 1984, Bonella took a break from horse racing, after one of his winning horses, Royal Amour, was badly injured. Rooster Hall, a horse trained by Bonella, won a 1994 race at

Sandown Racecourse Sandown Racecourse (also known as Ladbrokes Park due to naming rights) is a Thoroughbred horse racing race track administered by the Melbourne Racing Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is situated 25 kilometres south-east of the Melbo ...

. Bonella's daughter Louise is also a horse trainer.

Death

Bonella died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

on 2 April 2000, at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonella, Rod 1937 births 2000 deaths Australian male marathon runners Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Australian racehorse trainers Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics 20th-century Australian people Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games