Harold Nelson

MBE

Nelson at the 1950 British Empire Games
Personal information
Birth name	William Harold Nelson
Born	(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 ft 5+1⁄2 in) [1]
Weight	57 kg (126 lb) [1]
Spouse	Margaret Joyce Calder ​ ​ ( m. 1948; died 2006)​
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]
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 1950 Auckland 6 miles 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

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

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

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

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harold Nelson (athlete).

• Harold Nelson at Olympics.com