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Roland Hardy

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Roland Hardy
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born(1926-06-11)11 June 1926
Sheepbridge, Derbyshire, England
Died14 June 2016(2016-06-14) (aged 90)
Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England
Sport
SportRacewalking

Roland Hardy (11 June 1926 – 14 June 2016)[1] was a British racewalker who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics.[2] He was born in Sheepbridge, Derbyshire.[3] Hardy was a five-time national champion in the 7 miles walk and a two-time national champion in the 2 miles walk.[4]

Biography

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Hardy was born in Sheepbridge, Derbyshire, in June 1926.[2] At school, Hardy took part in both cricket and football.[2] In the latter, he was noticed by Sheffield United's manager Teddy Davison, who signed him to play for the side.[2] However, Hardy's National service stopped him from taking up a career in football.[2] In April 1949, Hardy began to take up race walking, where he joined the Sheffield United Harriers.[2] Later that year, Hardy won the 1949 Sheffield Star Walk, breaking the course record by 53 seconds.[5]

In August 1951, Hardy set a new world record in the 5-mile walk, beating the previous time by nine seconds,[2] and then broke the British 7-mile record one year later.[2] With this form, Hardy was selected to represent Great Britain at the Olympics.[6]

Hardy competed at two Olympic Games.[7] At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Hardy took part in the men's 10 kilometres walk, but was disqualified in his heat.[8] Four years later, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, he finished in eighth place in the men's 20 kilometres walk.[9]

He died in June 2016, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, at the age of 90.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ Roland Hardy's obituary
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Roland Hardy". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Roland Hardy". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  4. ^ "BRITISH ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 1945-1959". GB Athletics. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Vale Roland Hardy 1926-2016" (PDF). Victorian Race Walking Club. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Roland Hardy – Famous Derbyshire People". Peak District Online. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Hallamshire Harriers History – the first 50 years" (PDF). Hallamshire Harriers. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  8. ^ "10 kilometres Walk, Men (1952)". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  9. ^ "20 kilometres Walk, Men (1956)". Olympedia. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  10. ^ "DOUBLE OLYMPIC RACE WALKER ROLAND HARDY DIES". Pocket Mags. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Roland Hardy obituary". Legacy. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
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