SYDNEY: Dennis Green, who was the first Australian to compete at five Olympic Games, has died. He was 87.

Australian canoeing’s governing said Green died at his home on Wednesday after a battle with cancer.

After winning a bronze medal in the K2 10,000-metre at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics with team-mate Wally Brown, Green went on to compete at the 1960 Rome, 1964 Tokyo, 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Olympic Games, where he was selected as Australia’s flag bearer.

He won 64 national open titles in singles, pairs and fours.

Green was inducted into the Australian Sport Hall of Fame in 1986 and was awarded the Australian Order of Merit.

Paddle Australia chief executive Phil Jones said: “The Australian and international paddling communities, as well as Australian sport, have lost a remarkable athlete, coach and role model.”

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said Green embodied the Olympic spirit.

“Dennis was a truly great Olympian. He was a born competitor and won our first canoeing medal in a canoe he and colleague Wally Brown built themselves,” Coates said.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2018