John Monaghan was a New Zealand amateur wrestler.
13 Facts About Jack Monaghan
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Jack Monaghan represented his country at the 1950 British Empire Games and the 1954 World Wrestling Championships, and won 10 national wrestling titles.
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Jack Monaghan was born in Mataura on 6 August 1921, the son of Grace and Richard Jack Monaghan, and grew up in the district.
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In 1940, while employed by NZR in Wellington, Jack Monaghan enlisted for military service.
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Jack Monaghan began wrestling in Auckland, but moved to Wellington in 1940 to train with Anton Koolmann.
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Jack Monaghan resumed wrestling after the war, and between 1946 and 1959 he won 10 New Zealand national amateur wrestling titles, competing in the middleweight and welterweight divisions.
7.
Jack Monaghan was selected to represent New Zealand in the middleweight division at the 1954 World Wrestling Championships in Tokyo.
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Jack Monaghan lost his opening two bouts and was eliminated from the tournament.
9.
Jack Monaghan was one of five wrestlers nominated by the Dominion Wrestling Union for the New Zealand team to compete at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, but his was not one of the two nominations that was accepted by the New Zealand Olympic and British Empire Games Association.
10.
In 1955, Jack Monaghan was named Southland sportsman of the year.
11.
Jack Monaghan was one of 25 wrestlers named in a training squad to prepare for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, and in August 1956 he was one of four men nominated by the Dominion Wrestling Union for the New Zealand team.
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In 2020, the couple celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary, and the following year Jack Monaghan reached his 100th birthday.
13.
Jack Monaghan died on 3 July 2022, and was buried at Awa Tapu Cemetery in Paraparaumu.