The Sport Australia Hall of Fame is mourning the passing of Member Dave Power, who passed away Saturday aged 85, after a long illness.

Power was known on the International scene as one of the toughest competitors Australia has ever produced.

Power first competed at the Australian championships in 1950/51, finishing third in the mile in 4 min 22.9 seconds. At the 1951/52 championships, he competed in the 880yds, finishing third with 1:56.4. Power switched to cross country for the next couple of years, winning the event at the national championships in 1954 and 1955.

His first international appearance was at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, where he ran seventh in the 10,000m in a time of 29:49.6.

His marathon efforts in the Commonwealth Games were outstanding. At the 1958 Cardiff British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the marathon runners had to battle both heat and heavy traffic and occasional misdirection by officials. As captain of the Australian athletic team, Power won gold in the marathon and six mile events, and finished seventh in the three mile event.

At the 1960 Rome Olympics, three Soviet runners aimed to ensure a Soviet victory by adopting team tactics in the 10,000m. Zhukov having dropped a lap behind paced his teammates Bolotnikov (the eventual winner) and Desyachikov who finished 4th. However, Power tried to pull away with three laps to go but couldn’t shake Bolotnikov and East German Grodotzki (2nd) eventually claimng the bronze. Power also competed in the 5000m, finishing fifth in 13:51.8. He didn’t compete in the marathon.

At the 1962 Perth British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the runners battled very hot conditions and Power took silver in both the marathon (2:22:15.4) and the six mile (28:33.53) events.

Between 1950/52 and 1963/64, Power won a total of 10 national championships in the 3 mile, 6 mile, and cross-country events but also competed with success in the marathon.

His inspiration: “Give 100% to family and endeavours”.

The Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s General Manager, Bob Lay, recalls good times with Dave Power in the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games and also sharing memories following the 1982 Perth Commonwealth Games.

Dave will be saddly missed by all at The Sport Australia Hall of Fame and we send our condolences to his family.