By Virginia Winder

Nobody thought Kiwi athlete Peter Snell had a hope in hell of winning a medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics - not even Snell himself.

His goal was just to make the final.

But some sports critics thought even that aim was far-fetched. "There was a little bit of mild criticism - '24th in the world, that's not good enough to get beyond the first round' is what was said," Snell recalls, while sitting in an Auckland hotel room in 2003.

But the Taranaki-born runner knew he was better than that. His improvement graph had shown a steady rise since February that year when he was chosen to represent New Zealand in the 800 metres. The Olympics weren't until September.

After the New Zealand team arrived in Italy, Snell and long-distance runner Murray Halberg did a time trial over three-quarters of a mile. "I beat Murray by about ten yards on this and the story at home was 'Halberg in great time trial, he's ready'," Snell says.

But reporters only gave a passing mention to the younger man's performance.

Commentator's clanger

"So the expectation was very low for me."

In fact, when the 21-year-old lined up for the first round of the Olympic 800 metres, he was expected to come last.  There were only three others in that race - American Ernie Cunliffe (in 1960 ranked third in the world), Swiss Christian Waegli (ranked fifth) and Hungarian Istvan Rozsavoelgyi (ranked No 1 in the world for 1500 metres).

"The story goes that before the race, in the broadcasting box a BBC commentator declared: 'This is ridiculous. A four-man field and you can write down the first three names before the race starts'. Needless to say, not one of those names was mine," says Snell in the Garth Gilmour-written biography No Bugles No Drums.

But the commentator was way off the mark.

Snell won that race, with Rozsavoelgyi in fourth place and out of the competition. In any of the other heats, the Hungarian's time would have earned him victory. However, he did reach great heights in the 1500 metres, taking silver in the final.

Snell was also beginning to soar.

Kiwis can fly

"I knew from then that something was different, because I ran a personal best and it felt so easy," Snell recalls of his Olympic debut.

In the afternoon, Snell raced again. "I also ran well in that, got second, but I wasn't trying to win it - just qualify." That time, Belgian runner Roger Moens was first across the line.

Moving on to the semifinal, Snell begins to talk in the present tense, as if he is back in Rome watching his own story unfold.

"I'm down to the last 24; I'm up to expectation. So in the semifinal I run hard, and I run what would've been an Olympic record time, had not the first-round (semi) heat done it before I did."

The record had been 1 minute 47.5 seconds, but Jamaican George Kerr slipped under that time, winning the first semifinal in 1m47.1s. Snell won his semi in 1m47.2s.

"And I didn't feel that I was all out in that either, so from that point I was starting to think 'gold medal'," he says.

"That thinking actually changes somewhere in the back stretch of the last lap of the actual final."

Two at the tape

Snell explains why. "I was supposed to make a race-winning move, but the pace was fast and I couldn't do it and so I elected to just keep sitting in close to the pole line. The favourite for the race (Moens) moved past me, I didn't feel like going with him, so I kept close all the way round the last curve and it seemed as though everyone slowed down, gaps opened and I just sort of saw my chance.

"I suddenly had renewed energy and saw myself in third place and then second and then finally, 'I might even win this'."

On The Line: Peter Snell (right) and Belgian runner Roger Moens hit the finish line together in the 800-metre Olympic final at Rome in 1960.

A black-and-white photo tells the story of that famous finish. Two men thrust towards the tape, their arm and leg muscles taut, tendons and sinew rippling like corrugated iron.

The man in white is world record-holder Moens, his left arm flailing at the tape, almost as if he's waving.

On the inside of the track is a runner in black, No 83 across his front and back, silver fern over his heart. With mouth open, Snell hurls himself forward, arms back like a boy trying to fly.

"I just saw this tape in front of me and flung myself at it," he says.

Golden day for NZ

For the few seconds afterwards, the exhausted Snell could do nothing but lean on a nearby post - and wonder who had won. "It was so close, I didn't know. And in fact when the guy I beat came over, I said, 'Who won?' He said, 'You did'.

"Now at that moment I guess I felt pretty excited," Snell says, his Kiwi accent curling into an American drawl.

"I just kept thinking, 'I've won the gold medal here'. It seemed a terrific dream and, 'this is much earlier than I had hoped'," he says.

What's more Peter sneaked past George Kerr's record in the final with a time of 1m46.3s.

"What was really stirring, of course, was when Halberg just came out immediately afterwards and did it again."

While waiting for his medal presentation, Snell stood on the side of the track and watched with trepidation, then elation, as the famous Kiwi won the 5000-metre final, scoring a double for New Zealand. Both men were trained by Arthur Lydiard.

Next up, was Snell's victory ceremony.

"That's pretty moving stuff. You actually feel that the stadium is yours, it's your moment and there's a huge feeling of pride."

Just for a second, there's a catch in Snell's voice, a glimmer of moisture in his eyes, as he relives that glorious moment more than 43 years ago.

Then the 65-year-old sails on, to other races, new places and more glorious moments...