The head of world athletics, Sebastian Coe, has joined those paying tribute to Sir Peter Snell, who died in his sleep from heart failure at his home in Dallas on Saturday at the age of 80.
Lord Coe said Sir Peter was "a giant of athletics by any standard, in any era" and he was deeply saddened by his death.
Sir Peter Snell remains New Zealand's most successful track athlete, with three Olympic gold medals and two Commonwealth Games golds.
His New Zealand 800-metre record set in 1962 still stands, and he remains the only male runner since 1920 to win both the 800 metres and 1500 metres at the same Olympics.
Historian and writer Ron Palenski was a close friend.
He speaks to Corin Dann.
