Historical information

John (Jack ) Donaldson was born in Raywood in 1886 but he was raised in Inglewood. A natural runner he held 6 world records in sprint events from 100 yards to 400 yards. He came second in his first appearance at the Stawell Gift in 1906. He was nicknamed "The Blue Streak" and raced all over the world in official professional races, exhibitions and challenge events. He moved to New York in 1919 where he married Ethel Auer in 1925. He ran a gymnasium in NY but committed suicide in 1933.
He is remembered each year with the running of the "Jack Donaldson 200m. handicap " race at the Stawell Gift meeting.

Physical description

Bendigo Advertiser ''the way we were'' from Friday, January 2, 2004. World champion: Inglewood's John Donaldson, better known as Jack, was born in 1886. Although he lacked professional training, Jack skyrocketed to fame as a sprinter. Starting at the Stawell gift, his stride of eight feet, four inches, soon earned him world records for the 150 and 300 yard races; records which stood for nearly 100 years. He died in 1933 at the age of 49. The clip is in a folder.