Athletics: Lovelock's crystal cup comes home

An icon of New Zealand sporting history has finally come home.

The crystal cup presented to Kiwi track legend Jack Lovelock at the 1936 Berlin Olympics was welcomed home yesterday at a function hosted by Coca-Cola Amatil, which bought it last month at an auction in Germany.

Coca-Cola spokeswoman Aimee Driscoll said it was exciting to have it in New Zealand.

"It's had a long trip and we're fizzing at the idea of being a part of bringing it home."

About 200 people attended, including representatives of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Athletics New Zealand and old boys from Timaru Boys' High, Lovelock's old school.

Lovelock was given the 3.6kg cup for his world-record run in the 1500m, which earned New Zealand its first Olympic track gold medal.

It was too heavy to carry home, so Lovelock gave it to a 14-year-old boy working in the Olympic village. The boy nursed the cup through World War II and after he died it was bought at an auction by a glass collector.

The cup has a Bohemian lead crystal lid. There is a group of runners engraved on one side, and a German imperial eagle with a faint impression of a swastika above Olympic rings on the rear.

Coca-Cola will keep ownership of the cup and lend it to Timaru Boys' High, which already has a collection of Lovelock memorabilia including his 1936 gold medal.

The company did not disclose how much it paid for the cup, saying it was "tens of thousands of dollars" and well above the reserve price of $5200.