Dave Norris (athlete)

Dave Norris
ONZM
Norris in 2017
Personal information
NationalityNew Zealander
Born (1939-12-14) 14 December 1939
Birkenhead, New Zealand
Sport
SportAthletics
Eventtriple jump
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  New Zealand
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 1962 Perth Long jump
Bronze medal – third place 1958 Cardiff Triple jump

David Stanley Norris ONZM (born 14 December 1939) is a former New Zealand athlete who specialised in the long jump and triple jump.

Biography

Norris became New Zealand national champion in the triple jump at the age of 17 years-old in 1957, becoming the youngest New Zealand male national champion in an athletics event, a record that stood until beaten by a 15 year-old Sam Ruthe in 2025.[1]

Norris competed at five British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1958 to 1974. At the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he won the silver medal in the men's long jump. At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff he had won the bronze medal in the triple jump. At the 1960 Summer Olympics he competed in both the long jump and triple jump.[2][3] Norris won a total of 28 national titles and broke 11 records in jumping and hurdling events over his career.[4]

Norris also won the British AAA Championships title at the 1958 AAA Championships.[5][6][7]

Norris also played 31 games of basketball for New Zealand. He was later the chief executive of North Harbour Basketball in Auckland.[8]

After retiring from competitive athletics in 1978, Norris worked as a coach. He spent most of his working life as a school teacher in the Auckland area, teaching at Avondale College, Waiuku College and Kelston Boys' High School, before becoming deputy principal at Rangitoto College and then principal of Glenfield College.[8]

Norris was part of a dedicated team who, led by Sir Graeme Avery, created the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health on Auckland's North Shore. He managed the New Zealand team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[8] In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Norris was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to athletics and the community.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Kiwi runner Sam Ruthe becomes youngest man to win national senior athletics title". The New Zealand Herald. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  2. ^ "Profile at the New Zealand Olympic Committee: Results for Dave Norris". Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  3. ^ sports-reference.com - Dave Norris Biography Archived 2 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Unlikely start for athletic success". Stuff.co.nz. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Ibbotson quits... Pirie flops". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 13 July 1958. Retrieved 2 May 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  7. ^ "AAA Championships (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Local Folk – Dave Norris, Olympian". Local Matters. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee honours list 2002". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
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