Peter Mullins (9 July 1926 – 13 April 2012)[1] was an Australian decathlete and basketball player.[2] He competed in the decathlon at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[3] As a basketball player, he played at the 1959 FIBA World Championship on the Canadian team.[4] Mullins also coached the UBC Thunderbirds for twenty years, recording more than 330 wins.[5]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 9 July 1926 Bondi, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 13 April 2012 (aged 85) Sydney, Australia |
| Sport | |
| Event | Decathlon |
Early life
editMullins was born in Bondi, Australia in 1926.[6] Mullins played hockey, rugby, Australian rules football, table tennis and was swimmer.[6] At the age of fifteen, Mullins became a pole vaulter, before moving onto the decathlon.[3] He gained his diploma in physical education from the Sydney Teachers' College.[5]
Career
editIn 1946, he broke the Australian record for the decathlon, and was selected to represent Australia in the event at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.[3] He finished in sixth place at the Olympics,[6] setting another Australian record in the process.[3] At the 1949 Australian championships, Mullins won a gold and two bronze, before his focus moved to basketball.[3][6]
After moving to the United States, Mullins was offered a scholarship at Washington State University.[3][6] After graduating, he moved to Canada and became a member of staff at the University of British Columbia in 1955.[3][6] Mullins then went to represent the Canadian basketball team at the 1959 FIBA World Championship.[3] He continued playing throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before retiring in 1982.[3] Mullins also coached the Canadian basketball team at the 1970 Summer Universiade in Turin, Italy.[3] His team at the University of British Columbia also won the Western Canadian University Championships seven times from 1963 to 1975.[6][5]
Death
editMullins returned to Australia, where he died in 2012, aged 85.[3][7] He was inducted into the British Columbia Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, and the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy is award to the best rookie player in universities in Canada.[3][5]
References
edit- ^ "UBC Thunderbirds coaching icon Mullins passes away". boxscorenews. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ^ "This basketball answers the demands for sporting action". The ABC Weekly. 9 January 1954. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Peter Mullins". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "Peter Mullins Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Peter Mullins". Go Thunderbirds. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Dr Peter Mullins – The Unknown Star". Global Star Holidays. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "Gallagher: UBC great Peter Mullins remembered as funny, principled, athletic". The Province. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
External links
edit- Peter Mullins at Australian Athletics Historical Results
- Peter Mullins at FIBA.com (archived)
- Peter Mullins – Sports-Reference.com college basketball player profile
- Peter Mullins at Olympics.com
- Peter Mullins at Olympedia
