Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use New Zealand English
| Harold Nelson MBE | |
|---|---|
 Nelson at the 1950 British Empire Games | |
| Born |
William Harold Nelson 26 April 1923 Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Died |
1 July 2011 (aged 88) Richmond, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)[1] |
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Joyce Calder (m. 1948–2006) |
| Relatives |
Eliza Anscombe (grandmother) Edmund Anscombe (great-uncle) |
William Harold Nelson MBE (26 April 1923 – 1 July 2011) was a New Zealand long-distance runner who won two medals at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland.
Early life and family
Born in Dunedin on 26 April 1923,[2] Nelson was the son of Grace Ledingham Stewart—daughter of artist Eliza Anscombe—and William Alexander Anthony Nelson.[3] He was educated at Otago Boys' High School, and was inspired to take up athletics after seeing a film in 1938 about the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin that included New Zealander Jack Lovelock's winning the 1500 m gold medal.[4] Nelson served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during World War II.[5]
On 20 March 1948, Nelson married Margaret Joyce Calder, and the couple went on to have four children.[6][7]
Nelson graduated from the University of Otago in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts.[8]
Athletics
Coached by Bernie McKernan, Nelson first came to national prominence as an athlete when he won the under-19 one-mile title at the New Zealand junior championships in 1941, in a national junior record time of 4:30.0.[1][9][4] His athletics career was interrupted by World War II, but during the war he won a number of services athletics events.[10] Following an accident while serving with the RNZAF, Nelson was invalided home and he feared that he may never run again.[1] However, after an operation, he was able to resume his running career.[1]
In 1946, Nelson won the national cross-country championship, and in 1947 he won the New Zealand one-mile and three-mile titles at the national championships in Auckland.[10] The same year, he captured the one- and three-mile titles at the New South Wales amateur athletics championships at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[10]
At the New Zealand athletics championships in 1948, Nelson won both the three- and six-mile events.[9] His time of 29:57.4 over six miles was a New Zealand record, and made him the second-fastest athlete in the world over the distance at that time.[9][10][11]
Nelson was subsequently selected as team captain and flagbearer for the New Zealand team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London.[10] Competing in the 10,000 m, he suffered from dehydration and had to withdraw after 17 laps.[4] In the heats of the 5000 m, he recorded a time of 15:34.4, finishing sixth and not progressing to the final.[2]
At the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, Nelson won the gold medal in the 6 miles, in a time of 30:29.6.[12] He also competed in the 3 miles, winning the silver medal with a time of 14:28.8, behind Englishman Len Eyre.[12]
Nelson won his final national championship title, the cross country, in 1951.[9][12]
Later life and death
A schoolteacher, Nelson and his family moved to Nelson in 1951, where he taught at Nelson College for 12 years.[4][12] He then taught for six years at Waimea College, where he coached the young Rod Dixon.[4] Nelson completed his teaching career at Nelson Polytechnic, retiring in 1983.[4]
Nelson remained active in athletics as a coach and official in the Nelson area.[12] He organised the athletics at the 1983 South Pacific Games in Apia, and was a track official at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.[10] He participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay when it travelled through Wellington.[4] He served two terms as president of the New Zealand Amateur Athletics Coaches' Association, and was a various times director of athletics coaching in Western Samoa, the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands.[13]
In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Nelson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to athletics.[14] In 2006 he was the inaugural inductee into the Nelson Legends of Sport gallery.[4] He was recognised as New Zealand's oldest living Olympian in 2009.[15]
Nelson suffered a stroke in 1988, and in 2006 his wife, Joyce, died.[4] Nelson died at Richmond on 1 July 2011,[16] and his ashes were buried with those of his wife at Marsden Valley Cemetery.[17]
Legacy
Since November 2011, an annual athletics meet at Nelson's Saxton Field has been called the Harold Nelson Classic.[18] The southern entrance to the Saxton Field athletics track was renamed Harold Nelson Way in 2012.[19]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Champion runner once invalid". Cootamundra Herald. 2 April 1947. p. 4. http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143492509. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Harry Nelson". https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ne/harry-nelson-1.html. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ "Grace Ledingham Stewart". https://www.ancestry.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/28709536/person/26673810056/facts. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 De Ruyter, Martin (9 August 2008). "Flame still burns bright". Nelson Mail. http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/lifestyle-entertainment/weekend/572820/Flame-still-burns-bright. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ "William Harold Nelson". Auckland War Memorial Museum. http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C137209. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ Brock, Hayley (21 March 1998). "Silk stockings used to bribe bride-to-be". Nelson Mail. p. 1.
- ↑ Froggatt, Milton (12 October 2000). "Descendants of Jessie Alexander Moir". http://www.genealogyeemaker.genealogy.com/forum/regional/countries/topics/newzealand/2487/. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Mu–O". http://shadowsoftime.co.nz/university18.html. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedHollings - ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 "W. Harold Nelson MBE". Sport Tasman. http://www.sporttasman.org.nz/webfm_send/790. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ Kelly, Lindy (21 November 1998). "Running toward the future". Nelson Mail. p. 11.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 "Harold Nelson". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. http://www.olympic.org.nz/athletes/harold-nelson. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ Moore, Bill (9 July 2011). "A champion runner, coach". Nelson Mail. p. 18.
- ↑ "No. 50553". 13 June 1986. p. 31. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/50553/supplement/31
- ↑ "Olympics: nine Olympians still 'missing'". New Zealand Herald. 23 June 2009. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10580252. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ↑ "Death of region's athletics icon". Nelson Mail. 4 July 2011. p. 4. https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/nelson-mail/20110704/281625301941451. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ "Plot record details". Nelson City Council. http://customer.nelson.govt.nz/cemeteries/plot_records/MVRSE495__B. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ Lautenslager, Greg (23 November 2011). "Athletics showcase at weekend". Nelson Mail. p. 14. https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/nelson-mail/20111123/281835755508722. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ↑ Young, Sarah (1 February 2012). "Driveway tribute to Harold Nelson". Nelson Mail. http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/6347781/Driveway-tribute-to-Harold-Nelson. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harold Nelson (athlete). |
- H at the International Olympic Committee
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