Peter Snell

The athletic achievements of Dr. Peter G. Snell are considered so great that the term "Snell-like" is used to signify excellence: Three Olympic gold medals, two Empire (Commonwealth) games golds, a collection of world records and no defeats in major races. Peter Snell was the first person inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Twice, Dr Snell was named New Zealand Sportsman of the Year and was named Athlete of the Decade (1960's) by the authoritative Track and Field News and has now been named New Zealand's Athlete of the Century. Considered a long shot and ranked 25th in the world when he was selected for New Zealand's Olympic team in 1960, Dr. Snell captured the first of three gold medals with his 800-meters record-setting victory at the 1960 Games in Rome. For more on Peter Snell's Olympic success click here

Four years later in Tokyo, Dr. Snell won both the 800 and 1,500-meter races - a feat that has not been accomplished since. In 1961, he set world records for 800 meters, 880 yards and the mile, while also setting indoor world records in the 880 and 1,000 yards. Peter is still very active. He competes in orienteering events and has been US champion in his age group.

At age 34, Peter Snell enrolled at the University of California at Davis, completing his B.S. degree in three years. He then completed his master's and doctoral degrees at Washington State University, financing his studies by participating in "Super Stars," a made-for-TV event on ABC in 1976. After earning his doctorate, Dr. Snell was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he is now an Associate Professor and director of the Human Performance Laboratory.

He has written or been co-author of 60 published papers and abstracts on exercise-related research and served as president of the Dallas division of the American Heart Association. He has maintained his contact in New Zealand, and returns most years to lend his name and reputation to support the Peter Snell Institute of Sport.

Dr Peter Snell is internationally known in the field of exercise science and possesses a unique combination of academic accomplishments and athletic successes at Olympic level. His curriculum vitae indicates an active career of published and presented research. He has been a reviewer for Medicine and Science in Exercise and Sports, the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Circulation, the Journal of Applied Physiology and several other scientific publications.

In 1999 Dr. Snell was an inaugural inductee of the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame at the University of Rhode Island (in the company of two former US Presidents). In 2002 he was recognized in New Zealand with the honour of Distinguished Companion of the Order of New Zealand.

In the field of exercise science, he is a scientific adviser to US Track and Field, and has served on the Sports Medicine Committee of the US Olympic Committee. He has been an invited speaker at sports science conferences in various countries including USA, Finland, Denmark and New Zealand. He was the North American editor for an international book on the Physiology of Sport published in 1990 and wrote the chapter, The Physiology of Middle Distance Running.

Outside of the sports sphere Dr. Snell has been active in the American Heart Association serving as President of the Dallas Division in 1992, and is Patron of both the Auckland and the New Zealand Parkinsons Societies. He is a strong advocate of exercise for middle-aged and older individuals, which is the topic of his new book “Use it or Lose it� which was published in 2006 by Penguin.

His current research on physical acitivity and health involves studies on cancer survivors and patients with diabetes, morbid obesity, metabolic abnormalities and atrial fibrillation. In addition he is studying the effects of omega-3 fatty acid metabolism on chronic inflammation.

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