Australian world champion distance runner Ron Clarke dies at 78

Ron Clarke lit the Olympic torch at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games

World champion runner and former Gold Coast mayor Ron Clarke has died at the age of 78. He was one of the best known middle and long distance runners and became a running legend in the 1950s and 1960s, during which he set 17 world records.

In 1956, he was chosen to light the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the Melbourne Olympics.

The Gold Coast City Council confirmed his death citing kidney failure as the cause. Clarke was also treated for heart disease after sustaining permanent heart damage during the 1968 Olympics.

The period from 1963 to 1970 was very successful for the Australian. He won 202 of the 313 races he competed in breaking several records in the process. An Olympic gold medal eluded Clarke throughout his career. He was leading in the 10,000 m race at the Tokyo Olympics in tha final lap, only to be overtaken by Billy Mills and Mohamed Gammoudi.

Ron Clarke took on the role of the Mayor of Gold Coast in 2008

After his athletics career, he served two terms as Gold Coast mayor from 2004 to 2012. He had been awarded the Order of Australia and honoured as a Member of the British Empire.

Clarke is survived by his wife, Helen, and sons Marcus and Nicolas. A daughter, Monique, died in 2009.