Hailing from Stratford and representing West Coast North Island, Bates won the New Zealand junior 1 mile title in 1947, recording a time of 4:22.8.[1][2] In 1949, he progressed to the senior ranks and won the men's 1 mile title at the New Zealand athletics championships, in a time of 4:18.2.[1][2] The following year, he represented New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland in the men's 1 mile,[3] where he ran a time of 4:25.8 to finish sixth in his heat and did not progress to the final.[4]
Bates died on 14 July 2003, and his ashes were buried at Hillcrest Cemetery, Whakatāne.[5][6]
References
^ ab"Amateur athletics". Opunake Times. 18 February 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 16 May 2020.