 Nelson at the 1950 British Empire Games | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Harold Nelson (1923-04-26)26 April 1923 Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Died | 1 July 2011(2011-07-01) (aged 88) Richmond, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft5+1⁄2 in)[1] |
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb)[1] |
Spouse | |
| Relative(s) | Eliza Anscombe (grandmother) Edmund Anscombe (great-uncle) |
| Sport | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Coached by | Bernie McKernan[1] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| National finals | 1 mile champion (1947) 3 miles champion (1947, 1948) 6 miles champion (1948) Cross country champion (1946, 1951)[2] |
| Personalbest(s) | 1 mile — 4:14.8 3 miles — 14:19.4 6 miles — 29:57.4[3] |
Medal record | |
William Harold NelsonMBE (26 April 1923 – 1 July 2011) was a New Zealandlong-distance runner who won two medals at the1950 British Empire Games inAuckland.
Born inDunedin on 26 April 1923,[4] Nelson was the son of Grace Ledingham Stewart—daughter of artistEliza Anscombe—and William Alexander Anthony Nelson.[5] He was educated atOtago Boys' High School, and was inspired to take up athletics after seeing a film in 1938 about the1936 Summer Olympics inBerlin that included New ZealanderJack Lovelock's winning the 1500 m gold medal.[6] Nelson served with theRoyal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) duringWorld 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 theUniversity of Otago in 1952 with aBachelor of Arts.[10]
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 theSydney 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 andflagbearer for the New Zealand team at the1948 Olympic Games inLondon.[3] Competing in the10,000 m, he suffered from dehydration and had to withdraw after 17 laps.[6] In the heats of the5000 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 the6 miles, in a time of 30:29.6.[12] He also competed in the3 miles, winning the silver medal with a time of 14:28.8, behind EnglishmanLen Eyre.[12]
Nelson won his final national championship title, the cross country, in 1951.[2][12]
A schoolteacher, Nelson and his family moved toNelson in 1951, where he taught atNelson College for 12 years.[6][12] He then taught for six years atWaimea College, where he coached the youngRod Dixon.[6] Nelson completed his teaching career atNelson 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 1983South Pacific Games inApia, and was a track official at the1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.[3] He participated in the2000 Summer Olympics torch relay when it travelled throughWellington.[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 the1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Nelson was appointed aMember 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 atRichmond on 1 July 2011,[17] and his ashes were buried with those of his wife at Marsden Valley Cemetery.[18]
Since November 2011, an annual athletics meet at Nelson'sSaxton Field has been called theHarold Nelson Classic.[19] The southern entrance to the Saxton Field athletics track was renamed Harold Nelson Way in 2012.[20]
