Warwick Nicholl

Warwick Nicholl was one of the strongmen of New Zealand sport.

Coached by former Canterbury hammer throw champion Johnny Brown, he won four national hammer throw titles from 1970-73 and represented New Zealand at two Commonwealth Games.

Nicholl and his great rival and friend Murray Cheater dominated hammer throwing in New Zealand for a long period and kept snatching the New Zealand record off each other.

The Cantabrian claimed his first New Zealand record in 1967 with a throw of 54.20m. The following year his 55.20m allowed him to reclaim the record off Cheater. In 1970, he smashed out a 57.88m effort to take back his record. Finally, during the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh he broke through the 60-metre barrier with a throw of 60.02m to reclaim the record yet again. After that, there was no stopping Cheater and he lifted the record to a whopping 71.20m before he was done.

Nicholls served in the New Zealand Police from 1964-98 and rose to the rank of Superintendent. He was District Commander of Canterbury when he retired.

In the Edinburgh Games, he acquitted himself very well. Though he was nowhere near the 67.80m throw of Howard Payne, the gold medallist, his 60.02m kept him close to a medal throughout, though he eventually had to settle for 6th.

At the 1974 Commonwealth Games, Nicholl’s 63.72m effort earned him 7th place, two slots behind Cheater. “I thought I threw well in Christchurch, up to my best. Competing for New Zealand in my home town in front of my parents, who hadn’t seen me in a big competition, made it a career highlight for me.”

Nicholl had good cause to remember the Christchurch Games fondly even if he didn’t get among the medals. He was chosen as the New Zealand team captain and proudly carried his country’s flag into the stadium in the opening ceremony.

“That was a very special occasion for me. I was told about three or four days beforehand I was to be the captain and would take the oath on behalf of the athletes. It was an honour.

“I’ll never forget as we marched into the stadium the tremendous roar from the QEII spectators. The memory of it is enough to bring a lump to your throat all these years later. It was unbelievable. The whole Games was fantastic.”

Nicholl’s athletics career really ended with those Games. Later in 1974, he and his wife Lynn headed to Papua New Guinea for about two years. Warwick headed a police training team there.