Robert Kerr (athlete)
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 9, 1882 Enniskillen, Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | May 12, 1963 (aged 80) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
| Event | Sprints | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | West End Pleasure Club, Hamilton | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Robert Kerr (June 9, 1882 – May 12, 1963) was an
sprinter. He won the gold medal in the 200 metres and the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 1908 Summer Olympics.[1]
Biography
Kerr was born in
Saint Louis, United States and compete in the 1904 Summer Olympics
. There, he was eliminated in the heats of all three events he entered (60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres).
However, Kerr's performances got better, and he set Canadian records in all sprint distances between 40 and 220 yards. He won Canadian titles in the 100 yards (1907) and 200 yards (1906 to 1908). In 1908, Kerr travelled to England, where he competed in the 1908 AAA Championships, winning both the 100 and 200 yards.[3][4]
At the
James Rector
) with a time of 11.0 seconds. In the final of the 200 metres, held the next day, Kerr crossed the line first with a time of 22.6 seconds. News of his victory set off celebrations in his home town Hamilton.
During the First World War, Kerr became an officer with the
164th (Halton and Dufferin) Battalion, CEF and eventually was assigned to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps (misnamed the 1st Tank Battalion, CEF]).[5]
In the 1920s, Kerr coached the track and field club at the Hamilton
Canadian Olympic Association, and helped organize the 1930 British Empire Games
in Hamilton.
Kerr died in Hamilton, aged 80. A park in his home town was named in his honour.
References
- ^ "Robert Kerr". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ "Tigertown Triumphs" (Press release). The Hamilton Spectator-Memory Project (Souvenir Edition) page MP56. 10 June 2006.
- ^ "AAA Championships". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 6 July 1908. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
- ^ "Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force Officers' Declaration Paper". Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ ""Y" Athletes Are Training Hard For Indoor Meet". The Hamilton Spectator. 25 January 1924. p. 34.
Sources
- Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
- De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2006.
- Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 15 July 2006.
External links
- Robert Kerr at Olympics.com
- Robert Kerr at Olympedia
- Robert Kerr at Team Canada
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