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New Zealand's Peter Snell winning the men's 800m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

What do Dame Kelly Holmes, Albert Hill and Peter Snell all have in common?

They are three of the five middle-distance runners who have achieved the 800m and 1500m Olympic double.

is obviously the most recent, becoming the first British woman to achieve the feat four years ago in Athens.

was the first to complete the double, at the 1920 Antwerp Games, although he nearly didn't make it onto the team as British officials thought he may be too old, at 31, to race.

In contrast New Zealand legend (pictured above) had achieved a similar feat and was long retired by the time he reached a similar age.

Snell was trained by the man credited with inventing jogging.

He shot to fame at the 1960 Rome Olympics when he defeated world record holder Roger Moens of Belgium to win the 800m title.

In 1962, the Kiwi set world mile and 800m records in the same week as well as winning double Commonwealth Games gold in Australia.

So come 1964, he was rightly installed as favourite to become the first person to emulate Hill.

He won the 800m with ease, setting a new Olympic record of 1:45.1 - a time that would have been quick enough for him to win silver .

Five days later, Snell ran away from the field on the final lap of the 1500m to complete his double.

But at the peak of his career, he shocked the athletics world by announcing his retirement from the sport in 1965, at the age of just 26.

Despite his short career, he was named New Zealand's best athlete of the last century and remains their most decorated athlete with three Olympic golds to his name.

of the Soviet Union in 1976 and Russia's in 1996, are the only other athletes to have achieved the 800m and 1500m Olympic double.

Can you see anyone joining this quintet in Beijing?

Peter Scrivener is a ±«Óãtv Sport Journalist. Our should answer any questions you have.


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