Mike's Turkish delight

Former Olympic and Commonwealth Games marathon bronze medallist Mike Ryan was one of a clutch of Kiwi endurance athletes who starred on the global stage through the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Here Steve Landells caught up with the Scottish-born landscape gardener who recently experienced an unexpected invitation to Turkey.

After Athletics NZ contacted Mike Ryan out of the blue to say he had been invited to support a 10km event in Turkey named after Ismail Akcay, the man he had beaten into bronze at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. the Auckland septuagenarian could scarcely comprehend the unforeseen opportunity.

Only a matter of a few weeks earlier Mike had undergone a four-and-a-half-hour life-saving operation to fix an abdominal aortic aneurysm and as a consequence had lost 12kg in weight.

"It was told the Turkish Athletics Association had invited the three medallists ahead of Ismail Akcay (at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics) to attend the 10km event, which took place in his home city of Balikesir," says Mike.

"I said, subject to my medical condition, I would love to go."

Encountering a nagging issue with his sciatic nerve his GP suggested he go for an X-ray at hospital after which the aneurysm - which would have been fatal had it burst - was discovered.

Post-op Mike had difficulty eating and maintaining heat so the invite provided the perfect tonic for the man born in Bannockburn Scotland, who relocated to New Zealand aged 21 in 1963.

With the winner of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia dying of liver cancer 15 years ago and the silver medallist Kenji Kimihara of Japan opting not to attend, Mike was the only overseas invited guest to attend race which took place in the west Turkish city of Balikesir - about a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Istanbul.

"The Turkish people could not have been more welcoming, warm and receptive," says Mike, who still works today part-time as a landscape gardener. "Their attention to detail was amazing. There were such wonderful hosts."

Given a translator for the four-day trip to overcome the language barrier, Mike recalls the thrill of seeing Ismail - the man who finish fourth and 1:33 behind the Kiwi representative at the Mexico City Games - for the first time since the pair raced at the 1970 Athens Marathon.

"As I quickly realised the man is a cross between the Dalai Lama and Mother Theresa in his home city," he explains. "I could not reconcile the reverence in which he is held. Throughout his career he produced some very creditable performances (he was a four-time Balkan Games marathon champion) and he is clearly still held in very high esteem long after retirement."

The pair shared their memories of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics - a Games in which the marathoners had to experience competing in high altitude of more than 2200m for the first time. For Mike, who in 1966 won the Fukuoka Marathon and Commonwealth Games bronze in Kingston, competing and training at high altitude was a new experience.

He arrived in Mexico City six weeks before the event and initially struggled to cope with the alien conditions.

"I intended to go for a light run of about an hour-and-a-quarter when I realised I could barely run 45 minutes," he recalls of his first training experience

Gradually the John Davies-coached athlete became more accustomed to the high altitude only to then sprain his ankle just four days before his Olympic marathon and the adopted Kiwi admits he went into the race with "no expectations."

The race began in hot temperatures of around 23c at 3pm local time from the Zcalo -the main square in Mexico City - and the race proved a war of attrition. A total of 18 men failed to finish and a Mike recalls amusingly how a hugely demanding race was made slightly tougher.

"I remember as part of the second group a cameraman raced across the road with an electrical lead and we all had to jump over it," he says. "I thought it is hard enough to run 26 miles in high altitude and heat without having to also hurdle in the middle of the race!"

His other clear memory came at 35km when he passed three athletes; Tim Johnston of Great Britain, Belgian Gaston Roelants, the 1964 Olympic steeplechase champion, and Kenyan Naftali Temu, who a week earlier had landed Olympic 10,000m gold, who were all bent over double on the side of the road struggling to cope with the high altitude.

Suddenly the man from Tokoroa found himself in a battle for silver with Kenji Kimihara. A bout of stomach cramps meant Mike dropped off the Japanese athlete and in the latter stages vividly recalls smells of the tortilla and spices and "a feeling" Akcay was closing.

He entered the stadium in third to huge roars. However, the cheering, as he was to later to discover, was not for him.

"It was for Dick Fosbury, the American high jumper, because it was the first time the public become aware of the Fosbury Flop," he says.

He crossed the line in 2:23:45 - just 14 seconds behind Kimihara with Wolde (2:20:26) claiming gold. Akcay came home fourth just over a minute-and-a-half adrift of Ryan.

"As I crossed the finish line, I had a flood of memories of people who helped me along the way including my English teacher at high school Joe McGhee, who had won the 1954 Commonwealth Games marathon in Vancouver."

Aged just 26 at the time Mike hoped to continue to impress on the international stage yet post the Mexico City Games he admits he was never the same athlete and believes competing in the high altitude that day made a lasting impact on his body.

"I was never well," he says. "I couldnt maintain consistency and my hair, skin and nails were awful."

He later went on to compete for Manurewa AA and Harriers Club and enjoyed the camaraderie of club racing before drifting away from the sport in the mid-seventies. Which brings us back to his unexpected invite to Turkey.

During his trip, he visited the Ismail Akcay Memoial Gardens "even though Ismail is not dead" quips Mike. He was take to the Ismail Akcay statue and was treated like royalty experiencing amazing local cuisine and local hospitality.

"Being a marathon runner, I like food," he adds with a smile.

He found out more about the impressive Turkish running system back in the 1960s, which unearthed range of top quality runners out of training camps to the cooler North of Turkey.

The highlight of the trip came when he sat alongside the mayor and other dignitaries to spectate the 10km Ismail Akcay road race.

"It was incredibly hot and when this wee boy came over for photographs, I tipped a bottle of water over his head and he tipped it over mine," he explains. "The Turks have a great sense of humour and the whole trip was a lot of fun."

Yet the respect the Turkish people showed Mike in Balikesir was truly sobering for the Hillsborough-based grandfather.

"I remember close to end of my stay walking into a bank when the staff came over to talk to me to ask me how I was doing," he explains. "There was 12 people in the room waiting to be served but the bank manager closed the shop to talk to me. It was priceless.

"The invitation (to go to Balikesir) was an opportunity not to be missed and it was one Im glad I accepted."

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Athletics New Zealand