Peter Mander

Peter Mander
OBE
Mander in 1956
Personal information
Full namePeter Garth Mander
Born(1928-07-04)4 July 1928
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died21 June 1998(1998-06-21) (aged 69)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight84 kg (185 lb)
Medal record
Sailing
Representing  New Zealand
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Sharpie class

Peter Garth Mander OBE (4 July 1928 – 21 June 1998) was a New Zealand yachtsman and Olympic gold medal winner. With Jack Cropp, Mander won the 12 m2 Sharpie class at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Mander then retired from competitive yachting, but made a comeback and was selected to compete in the Finn class at the 1964 Summer Olympics where he finished fourth. He later became the president of the New Zealand Yachting Federation.[2]

Mander also won two world 18-footer championships, in 1952 and 1954, as well as 16 New Zealand national yachting titles in eight different classes. In 1972 he was named New Zealand yachtsman of the year, and in 1990 he was inducted, with Jack Cropp, into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.[3]

Born in the Christchurch suburb of Sumner in 1928, Mander was the son of Nina Pretoria Mander (née Hoglund) and Stanley Augustus Mander, who played for the New Zealand hockey team.[3] His younger brother, Graham Mander, competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics, also as a yachtsman. He was educated at St Andrew's College.[2]

Outside of yachting, Mander was a businessman. He joined Christchurch clothing company Deanes Industries in 1950 and rose to becoming managing director. He also served as a director of the clothing and retail companies R.W. Saunders and Hallenstein Brothers.[3]

In the 1992 New Year Honours, Mander was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to yachting.[4] He died in Christchurch on 21 June 1998.[3]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Peter Mander". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Peter Mander". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Corkin, Jason. "Mander, Peter Garth". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. ^ "No. 52768". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1991. p. 30.