Neale Lavis

Neale Lavis
Personal information
Full nameNeale John Lavis
Nationality Australia
DisciplineEventing
Born(1930-06-11)11 June 1930
Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia
Died6 October 2019(2019-10-06) (aged 89)
Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Eventing, team
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome Eventing, individual

Neale John Lavis OAM (11 June 1930 – 6 October 2019)[1] was an Australian equestrian and Olympic champion. He won a team gold medal in eventing at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, and a silver medal in individual eventing.[2] He also participated at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, but did not win any medals there.[3] He later became involved with a cattle and racehorse stud in Braidwood, which produced Just A Dash, the winner of the 1981 Melbourne Cup, and Strawberry Road, the 1982/83 Racehorse of the Year.[3] After the Rome Olympics, he married Velma; they had four children.[4]

Lavis was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1989,[3] received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999,[5] and received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.[6]

  1. ^ Wheatley, Bronwyn; Uytendaal, Kerry (8 October 2019). "Unforgettable: Bodalla lad who won gold". Narooma News. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Neale Lavis". SR/Olympic Sports. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
  3. ^ a b c "Neale Lavis". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Neale Lavis". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Lavis, Neale John". It's an Honour. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Lavis, Neale: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 10 October 2019.