Jim Leckie

SportCountryNew ZealandSportAthleticsAchievements and titlesNational finalsHammer throw champion (1932, 1945, 1946, 1948)

James George Leckie (9 October 1903 – 25 June 1982) was a New Zealand track and field athlete who won a bronze medal at the 1938 British Empire Games.

Early life and family

Born at Blueskin Bay, north of Dunedin, on 9 October 1903, Leckie was the son of William Gunn Leckie and Helen Cameron Leckie (née Farquharson).^[1][2] He married Daisy Isabella McIntyre on 22 August 1934,^[3] and they went on to have three children.^[1]

Athletics

Leckie was a four-time winner of the New Zealand hammer throw title at the national amateur athletics championships, in 1932, 1945, 1946, and 1948.^[4]

Selected to represent New Zealand at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Leckie was his team's flagbearer at the opening ceremony.^[5] He won the bronze medal in the men's hammer throw, with a best distance of 145 ft 5+1⁄2 in (44.34 m).^[6] Leckie was also entered for the men's discus, but did not start.^[6]

Twelve years later at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, Leckie was the New Zealand team captain.^[5] He placed seventh in the men's hammer, recording a best throw of 136 ft 6 in (41.61 m).^[6]

Later life and death

During World War II, Leckie was a member of the Home Guard, and was appointed as a temporary second lieutenant in February 1943.^[7] In civilian life, he was a schoolteacher, and was headmaster at Sawyers Bay School.^[5]

Leckie died in Dunedin on 25 June 1982.^[8]

References