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Harold Nelson (athlete)

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Harold Nelson
MBE
Nelson at the 1950 British Empire Games
Personal information
Birth nameWilliam Harold Nelson
Born(1923-04-26)26 April 1923
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died1 July 2011(2011-07-01) (aged 88)
Richmond, New Zealand
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in)[1]
Weight57 kg (126 lb)[1]
Spouse
Margaret Joyce Calder
​
​
(m. 1948; died 2006)​
Relative(s)Eliza Anscombe (grandmother)
Edmund Anscombe (great-uncle)
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
SportTrack and field
Coached byBernie McKernan[1]
Achievements and titles
National finals1 mile champion (1947)
3 miles champion (1947, 1948)
6 miles champion (1948)
Cross country champion (1946, 1951)[2]
Personal best(s)1 mile – 4:14.8
3 miles – 14:19.4
6 miles – 29:57.4[3]
Medal record
Representing  New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1950 Auckland 6 miles
Silver medal – second place 1950 Auckland 3 miles

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

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Born in Dunedin on 26 April 1923,[4] Nelson was the son of Grace Ledingham Stewart—daughter of artist Eliza Anscombe—and William Alexander Anthony Nelson.[5] 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.[6] Nelson served with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during World War II.[7]

On 20 March 1948, Nelson married Margaret Joyce Calder, and the couple went on to have four children.[8][9]

Nelson graduated from the University of Otago in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts.[10]

Athletics

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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][2][6] His athletics career was interrupted by World War II, but during the war he won a number of services athletics events.[3] 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.[3] The same year, he captured the one- and three-mile titles at the New South Wales amateur athletics championships at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[3]

At the New Zealand athletics championships in 1948, Nelson won both the three- and six-mile events.[2] 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.[2][3][11]

Nelson was subsequently selected as team captain and flagbearer for the New Zealand team at the 1948 Olympic Games in London.[3] Competing in the 10,000 m, he suffered from dehydration and had to withdraw after 17 laps.[6] In the heats of the 5000 m, he recorded a time of 15:34.4, finishing sixth and not progressing to the final.[4]

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.[2][12]

Later life and death

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A schoolteacher, Nelson and his family moved to Nelson in 1951, where he taught at Nelson College for 12 years.[6][12] He then taught for six years at Waimea College, where he coached the young Rod Dixon.[6] Nelson completed his teaching career at Nelson Polytechnic, retiring in 1983.[6]

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.[3] He participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay when it travelled through Wellington.[6] 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.[6] He was recognised as New Zealand's oldest living Olympian in 2009.[15][16]

Nelson suffered a stroke in 1988, and in 2006 his wife, Joyce, died.[6] Nelson died at Richmond on 1 July 2011,[17] and his ashes were buried with those of his wife at Marsden Valley Cemetery.[18]

Legacy

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Since November 2011, an annual athletics meet at Nelson's Saxton Field has been called the Harold Nelson Classic.[19] The southern entrance to the Saxton Field athletics track was renamed Harold Nelson Way in 2012.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Champion runner once invalid". Cootamundra Herald. 2 April 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "W. Harold Nelson MBE". Sport Tasman. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Harry Nelson". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Grace Ledingham Stewart". Ancestry.com.au. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Ruyter, Martin (9 August 2008). "Flame still burns bright". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  7. ^ "William Harold Nelson". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  8. ^ Brock, Hayley (21 March 1998). "Silk stockings used to bribe bride-to-be". Nelson Mail. p. 1.
  9. ^ Froggatt, Milton (12 October 2000). "Descendants of Jessie Alexander Moir". Genealogy.com. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  10. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Mu–O". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  11. ^ Kelly, Lindy (21 November 1998). "Running toward the future". Nelson Mail. p. 11.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Harold Nelson". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  13. ^ Moore, Bill (9 July 2011). "A champion runner, coach". Nelson Mail. p. 18.
  14. ^ "No. 50553". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 14 June 1986. p. 32.
  15. ^ "Olympics: nine Olympians still 'missing'". New Zealand Herald. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  16. ^ Martin, Wayne (26 June 2009). "Nelson's Olympians recognised". The Nelson Mail.ProQuest 274571184
  17. ^ "Death of region's athletics icon". Nelson Mail. 4 July 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Plot record details". Nelson City Council. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  19. ^ Lautenslager, Greg (23 November 2011). "Athletics showcase at weekend". Nelson Mail. p. 14. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  20. ^ Young, Sarah (1 February 2012). "Driveway tribute to Harold Nelson". Nelson Mail. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
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