In this episode, perseverance emerges as one of Kevan’s strengths, and we see the beginning of an interest in politics. Becoming the #1 400m runner in the World, and the bittersweet experience of becoming an Olympian, in Melbourne in 1956.

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In this episode, Kevan talks about his life at a young scholarship student at Michigan State University, raising questions as to whether he had made the right decision. He speaks of the people he encountered and the experiences he shared with them in the USA during the early 1950s, which had lifelong consequences, including his first experience of being chosen to wear an Australian blazer. 

 Alternative Headers: 

The Biggest Risk Reward Decision

"If You Work Hard Enough, You Can Get A Green Blazer"

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In this episode, Kevan talks about his discovery of his athletic ability and the impact of sport on his life.  Plus, the recognition of those who most influenced his early decisions and some tough choices when the love of home and family is positioned against the opportunity for further education and athletic training.

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In this episode, Kevan discusses the story of the Gospers and how they arrived in Australia, being a young Caucasian child growing up in the suburbs at the time of a World War, and how yesterday’s experiences offer insights to today’s challenges.

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Kevan Gosper spent much of his life in Olympic circles, rising to the position of IOC Senior Vice President. His time in the movement coincided with some of the world’s biggest geopolitical shifts: the Cold War boycott era, the end of apartheid in South Africa, the rise of China, the shift from amateurism to professionalism, and the growth of what was to become the most recognised symbol on the planet, the Olympic Rings. 

 Amongst his friends, he counted political luminaries, such as former South African President Nelson Mandela and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Sadly, on July 19, 2024, only days before his planned departure for Paris, he passed away on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast with his wife Judy and daughter Sophie by his side.

Only weeks before, I sat down with him to record the last in a series of podcasts called ‘Kevan Gosper In His Own Words’. It was a project we started during COVID for him to document his own extraordinary story for his children and grandchildren. But I convinced him that they should be made available to the National Archives of Australia, such was the significance of his contribution to sport, the Olympics and corporate life.   

As you will hear unfold, the podcast conversations took on a life of their own. Kevan provides a kaleidoscopic lens to life and its roller coaster ride. Before going back to where it all began for the Gospers, on a convict ship from England, Kevan looks briefly to the future and the Olympic Games place in it, with a warning to those now in charge of the biggest show on earth.

This was the final episode, in which he reflects on his life, and one-time consideration of running for the Presidency of the IOC after Juan Antonio Samaranch, but was aware of the rise of former Olympic sailor Jacques Rogge from Belgium and Canadian Olympic swimmer Dick Pound who had both been touted as potential future Presidents in an era of significant change for the Olympic movement.

 Welcome to the Final Podcast, First 

 Tracey Holmes

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