News & Updates

27 January 2022 • Track and Field

World Athletics recognise Sir Peter Snell and Cooks Gardens with heritage plaque

The historic Cooks Gardens in Whanganui has been jointly recognised with Sir Peter Snell for a World Athletics Heritage Plaque. (Image: Courtesy of Sports Heritage Trust - Whanganui).

Athletics NZ is delighted with the news announced today by World Athletics that to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first Sir Peter Snell mile world record, the New Zealand middle-distance icon is to be honoured with the World Heritage Plaque in the posthumous category of “Legend.”

The plaque jointly recognises Cooks Gardens in Whanganui, whose grass track was the venue for Snell’s epic 3:54.4 run, which on 27 January 1962 took one-tenth of a second off Herb Elliott’s world record. Cooks Gardens, which since 1992 has had a synthetic track, boasts a distinguished history as a venue of outstanding middle-distance performances, receives the plaque in the category of “Landmark”.

Dubbed “The Home of the Mile”, Cooks Gardens emerged on the global stage thanks to Snell’s world mile record there 60 years ago. However, in total Cooks Gardens has witnessed 69 sub-four-minute mile performances with the track record belonging to double Olympic 1500m medallist Nick Willis, who ran a time of 3:52.75 in 2006.

Athletics NZ CEO Pete Pftizinger said: “Athletics NZ is immensely proud that our former Patron Sir Peter Snell has been recognised with a World Athletics Heritage Plaque on the 60th Anniversary of his mile world record at Cooks Gardens in Whanganui. We are also thrilled that Cooks Gardens has been recognised with a World Athletics Landmark plaque for its remarkable contribution to middle distance running.”

Russell Sears, Co-ordinator of the Sports Heritage Trust in Whanganui said: “We are delighted that “Cooks Gardens – Home of the Mile” has been recognised by World Athletics on the world stage.

“Cooks Gardens and Whanganui are indebted to Sir Peter Snell and the other six athletes who made history that night back in 1962. It put Whanganui on the world stage and through Snell’s efforts, athletes from around the world still want to run a mile at Cooks Gardens.”

See the full World Athletics release here