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FWC on Sport Nation guideOlympian and fitness pioneer Les Mills dies aged 91
Sport Nation • June 29th, 2026 10:58 am
Les Mills during the 2012 Halberg Awards | Photo: Photosport
New Zealand athletics great and fitness pioneer Les Mills has died at the age of 91.
A three-time Olympian and five-time Commonwealth Games medallist, Mills was one of the country's most accomplished field athletes, representing New Zealand in the shot put and discus across two decades.
His greatest achievement came at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, where he won gold in the discus. Across his Commonwealth Games career, he claimed five medals, while his New Zealand shot put record stood for 44 years before Jacko Gill broke it in 2011.
Les Mills (L) and Roy Williams. Auckland, New Zealand leg of the Olympic Torch relay ahead of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney | Photo: Photosport
After retiring from competition, Mills transformed New Zealand's fitness landscape by opening his first Auckland gym in 1968.
That single facility grew into Les Mills International, one of the world's leading fitness companies, with its programmes now used in thousands of gyms around the world.
Away from sport, Mills also served as Auckland City mayor from 1990 to 1998, overseeing several landmark projects that helped reshape the city.
Mills was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002 for services to local government and sport.
