Born in Wanganui on August 10, 1900, Porritt was educated at Wanganui Collegiate School and at Otago University, where he showed prominence in athletics, though also played rugby for University. He won the national 100 yards title in 1923 then took up his Rhodes Scholarship and because he was at Oxford, was chosen to run in the Paris Olympics in 1924. Porritt was third in the final behind his friend, Harold Abrahams, and American Jackson Scholtz. Porritt was also chosen for the Amsterdam Olympics but was injured and couldn’t run and was captain of the team instead. He was manager of the New Zealand team at the Empire Games in London in 1934 and the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 where he advised Jack Lovelock to run in the 1500 metres instead of the 5000 metres, to which Lovelock was inclined. Porritt also served as president of the Commonwealth Games Federation and was a member of the International Olympic Committee. Return to the Inductee list