Olympics history: Resourceful champion hurdler who turned country pub into a training hub

Ray Weinberg used the Kerang showgrounds, a darkened airport runway and his hotel's carpark to train for the Olympics. (Supplied)

While Olympians in Tokyo have mostly been competing and training in world-class facilities, in the Mallee town of Kerang, residents tell the tale of a former publican who once used some unlikely facilities to become a champion hurdler.

Ray Weinberg ran the town's Commercial Hotel while he juggled training for the Olympics — in 1948 for London and in 1952 for Helsinki, as his son, Brett Weinberg recalled.

"There was nowhere really to train in town, [so] my dad used to train on the trotting track at the Kerang Showgrounds," Brett said.

"When he was doing his starts, which is a major part of a 110m hurdle race, he had no-one who would start him.

"There was a station nearby, there was a big shunting yard there, and he'd wait until the trains pushed the trucks together — that's when he'd start, when the clang came."

Ray Weinberg trained for the Olympics while also running the Commercial Hotel in Kerang.  (Supplied)

Unusual high-performance training track

The former Olympian passed away in 2018 but his son said he always had fond memories of his 20 years in Kerang.

"My mother, who was also an athlete, she used to go out there and watch his technique.

"Dad wasn't a really fast runner, so he had to make up for it with good technique."

However, Ray's 1956 Melbourne Olympic dreams were cut short because he was suffering from a debilitating eye complaint that required both his eyes be bandaged.

Ray Weinberg trained David Prince in Kerang in the 1960s.  (Facebook)

In the early 1960s, Ray created somewhat of a high-performance academy, when trained fellow champion hurdler David Prince.

Prince went on to win silver at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth but he missed out on competing in 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Despite being selected for the team, he was swapped for a Queensland athlete.

While Ray went on to continue his strong links to the Olympic Games, commentating on the television coverage from 1964 to 1980.

David Prince regularly trained with Ray Weinberg in the carpark of the Commerical Hotel in Kerang. (Facebook)

The Commercial Hotel is now called the Kerang Sports and Entertainment Venue and its manager, Matthew Chamberlain, said locals often spoke of the pub's history.

"It's brought up from time to time. It's something that's unique to our area," Mr Chamberlain said.

"The pub must have been a good place to wind down after a big training session."