Ron Clarke has been hailed the greatest Australian athlete never to win Olympic gold.
The 78-year-old died after a short illness early Wednesday on the Gold Coast, where he served as mayor for eight years after his stellar athletics career.
Clarke, who lit the cauldron at the 1956 Melbourne Games aged 19, set 17 world records in middle distance running, won an Olympic bronze medal and four Commonwealth Games silvers.
"He stands head and shoulders above everybody," fellow great Herb Elliott, the 1960 Olympic 1500m champion, told AAP.
"He dominated the world for a number of years, particularly in the 10km and six miles, but also in the 5km.
"I don't know there's any other Australian that's done anything like that - certainly I never did."
Despite his dominance, Clarke never managed to bring home his own Olympic gold.
The world expected him to do so at the 1968 Games, but he couldn't cope with the altitude in Mexico City.
During the gruelling 10,000m final, the race favourite collapsed in the thin air and had to be resuscitated at the finish line by the Australian team doctor.
Long-time sports commentator Peter Meares said Clarke used to laugh off his unattained Olympic dreams.
"But I think deep down he knew that he was the best because he broke so many world records," Mr Meares told the ABC.
"He could win everything from a mile up to 10,000m, or even longer. He was just a machine."
Such was the respect he commanded from his fellow athletes that one of them - after Clarke's collapse in Mexico - gave the Australian his own Olympic gold.
Czech great Emil Zatopek, who won the 10,000m at the 1952 Helsinki Games, slipped the medal to him in a package at Prague airport, telling him: "Look after this. You deserve it."
Clarke was part of one of the most memorable moments in Australian sporting history at the 1956 national championships, when he was helped up by rival John Landy after falling during the 1500m race.
"Ron Clarke, by his running feats inspired Australian distance runners and in a world sense, demonstrated the potential athletics achievements possible," Landy, who went on to win the event, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The runner was also a successful businessman, politician and author, and was lauded by sport figures on Wednesday.
Athletics Australia president David Grace said Clarke will forever be a legend of the sport.
"We are grateful for his extensive contribution to the sport of athletics, as well as to public service during a life that should be celebrated," he said.
John Bertrand, chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame - of which Clarke is a member - said the athlete seemingly had no limits in what he could achieve.
"Ron Clarke set new standards of training and application that raised the bar to a level that the world of athletics at that era had never seen before," Bertrand told the ABC.
Champion Olympic hurdler and Gold Coast resident Sally Pearson tweeted: "Ron Clarke .. star on the track, a great man off the track. Athletics has lost a true statesman. RIP Ron."
He is survived by his wife Helen, two sons and grandchildren. His daughter, Monique, died in 2009.
