Dixon was born on 13 July 1950 in
Nelson, New Zealand. He first represented New Zealand at the
1972 Summer Olympics in
Munich, finishing third in the
1500 metres. He won his first British
AAA Championships title in the 1500m event at the
1973 AAA Championships (the second was in 1976). At the
1974 British Commonwealth Games in
Christchurch he finished fourth in the 1500 metres. His time of 3:33.89 (officially 3:33.9) was the fifth fastest ever at the time and remained Dixon's lifetime best for the distance. He then moved up to the
5000 metres and was ranked first in the world for the event in 1975 by
Track & Field News magazine. In the 5000 metres at the
1976 Montreal Olympics Dixon finished fourth behind four-time Olympic Champion
Lasse Virén, teammate
Dick Quax and
Klaus-Peter Hildenbrand whose last second dive/fall denied Dixon a second Olympic bronze medal. After missing the
1980 Summer Olympics due to the
boycott Dixon took third place at the
1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Dixon also turned to road-running and was one of the more successful athletes on the US
road racing circuit in the early '80s, including wins at the
Falmouth Road Race (1980),
Bay to Breakers (1982 & 1983), the Lynchburg, Virginia 10 miler (1981 & 1983), and the Philadelphia Half-Marathon (1980, 1981). His gradual move to longer distances culminated in his
1983 marathon victory in New York City. He finished 10th in the
marathon at the
1984 Summer Olympics. Unable to compete due to an injury, Dixon guided a
blind runner in the 1985 Bay to Breakers. The
boycott by the governor-general,
Dame Cindy Kiro, at
Government House, Auckland, on 9 April 2026 In the
2026 New Year Honours, Dixon was appointed an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to athletics. ==Personal bests==