Spartan Olympians: Kevan Gosper

KEVAN GOSPER, Member, men’s track team, Australia, Silver Medal, 4x400-meter relay, 1956 Summer Games, Melbourne

            No Spartan embodies the Olympics more than Kevan Gosper, ’55, who competed twice—in Melbourne in 1956, winning a silver medal in the 4x400-meter relay with MSU teammate David Lean, and in Rome in 1960 as captain of the Australian track team. 

            Gosper has been a part of the Olympic movement ever since, and his autobiography, published in 2000, is titled An Olympic Life.

            He joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977 and now serves as IOC vice president and for 18 years has been chief of the IOC Press Commission.  He also serves as the deputy chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2008 Beijing Games.  He helped Australia land the 2000 Summer Games and served on the organizing committee.

            At age 17, the native of Newcastle, Australia, was recruited to MSU by coach Karl Schlademan—whom he deems “a remarkable coach.”

            “Under his guidance I beat the best quarter milers in the country and went on to win gold in Vancouver in the Commonwealth Games,” says Gosper, who won three Big Ten titles in 1955—the indoor 440-yard dash, and the 600-yard title, and the outdoor 440-yard run.

            “(Australia) was a three or four day flight in propeller driven Boeing Stratocruiser and Lockheed Constellation aircraft,” recalls Gosper, who was able to visit home once in three years. “A telephone call was extremely expensive. Contact with my family relied almost entirely on daily aerogrammes.”

            Gosper went on to become the CEO of Shell Oil in Australia.  His great passion in life remains the Olympics. 

            “My role in the IOC is honorary; we receive no remuneration,” he explains.  “But the rewards which come from participating in staging Olympic Games throughout the different parts of the world, meeting interesting people and seeing young athletes compete in one location in peaceful conditions is more than any reward you can ask for. 

            “I consider myself an extremely fortunate person and it was my experience at Michigan State University which gave me my great start in life.”