A 19-year-old John Cooper was living on his family’s sheep farm in Goulburn when he was selected to run with the Olympic torch in 1956.
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With Tuesday marking 60 years since the opening ceremony of the Melbourne Olympic Games, the memories have come flooding back for the 79-year-old.
After passing an elimination selection process that involved running a mile, or 1.61 km, in under six minutes he was handed the torch on November 19 by friend Ron MacAuley.
“On the day it took me six minutes and 25 seconds,” Mr Cooper said with a smile.
“It was a shocking day, and I remember I had a long stretch up hill.
“There was no flame, the torch was a canister that just kind of smouldered.”
At the time Mr Cooper’s family had no television, so was unable to watch any of Australia’s first Olympic Games as host.
“It seems different now to what it used to be, you don’t have to go anywhere because I reckon you can see more from your living room,” Mr Cooper said.
