Alan John Sayers (born 6 December 1916) is a former New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 track and field athlete

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 who competed at the 1938 British Empire Games

1938 British Empire Games

The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the Commonwealth Games being the modern-day equivalent. Held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from February 5–12, 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary...

 where he won the bronze medal as part of the men's 4 x 440 yards relay team. He also competed in the 220 and 440 yards sprinting events where he placed 5th in heat 4 of the 220 yards and 3rd in heat 3 of the 440 yards.

He worked for the Auckland Star and the Auckland Herald. He was the first journalist in New Zealand to receive a byline

Byline

The byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name, and often the position, of the writer of the article. Bylines are traditionally placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines place bylines at the bottom of the page, to leave more room for graphical...

 and was New Zealand's naval intelligence officer in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, reporting on enemy activity in the South Pacific.

In August 2011 he released Fred The Needle: The Untold Story co-authored with Les Wilson, the official biography of the oldest living All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

coach and captain, Fred Allen, undefeated throughout his career. The book reached the top 3 in New Zealand for the week beginning 29 August 2011.