 Halstead (far right) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 September 1910 Radcliffe,Lancashire, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 11 November 1991 (aged 81) Bury, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Sprints/400m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Bury & Radcliffe AC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Eleanor Halstead (19 September 1910 – 11 November 1991)[1] was an Englishtrack and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. There is a running track named after her in Radcliffe.[2]
Halstead was born inRadcliffe,Lancashire and died inBury. She was a member of Bury Athletic Club and Radcliffe Athletic Club.
Halstead becamenational 220 yards champion after winning the British WAAA Championships title at the1930 WAAA Championships in a world record time of 25.2 sec.[3] The following year, Halstead won three WAAA titles, retaining her 220 yards crown and also becomingnational 100 yards champion andnational 440 yards champion at the1931 WAAA Championships.[4]
She won gold medals in the 60 metres and 200 metres at theOlympics of Grace in 1931.[5] Halstead continued her success by retaining her 200 and 440 yards titles at the1932 WAAA Championships and winning the 400 metres title at the1933 WAAA Championships.[6]
She competed for Great Britain as one of Britain's first women track Olympians in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, where in the 4×100 metres she won the bronze medal with her team matesEileen Hiscock,Gwendoline Porter andViolet Webb (replacing the injuredEthel Johnson).
At the 1934 Empire Games she was a member of theEngland relay team which won the gold medal in the 110-220-110 yards relay event and the silver medal in the 220-110-220-110 yards relay competition (withEileen Hiscock, Halstead,Ethel Johnson andIvy Walker).[7] In the 220 yards she won the bronze medal.[8]
Halstead won further WAAA titles in the 800 metres at the1935 WAAA Championships in a national record time of 2:15.6 and at the1938 WAAA Championships[9] and a 400 metres title at the1937 WAAA Championships.
According to historianJean Williams, Halstead also played as acentre forward for theDick, Kerr's Ladiesfootball team.[2][10][11]
She also competed in the 1.9-mile women's race before theInternational Cross Country Championships, winning the title for England.[12]
At the 1934 Games, her siblingEdwin Halstead (thenEdith Halstead) also won a silver medal.
Nellie Halstead, who later played centre forward for Dick, Kerr, won bronze in the 1936 Olympic games.
