No 65: Nelson runs to gold (1950)
Harold Nelson enhanced the New Zealand middle and long- distance tradition when he won the six miles at the Empire Games in Auckland in 1950.
He followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Cecil Matthews, who won the event in Sydney in 1938, and he was in Christchurch in 1974 to watch Dick Tayler continue the tradition.
Nelson was the New Zealand team captain and flag bearer at the London Olympics in 1948.
He learned a hard lesson when he followed coach Bernie McKernan's instructions and "dried out" the day before his race.
He suffered from dehydration in the warm conditions and did not finish the 10,000m.
Nelson drank plenty of water on race day in 1950 and was always with the leaders until he took control with four laps to go.
"When I led with a lap to go, I knew no-one would catch me," Nelson recalled.
He had practised finishing his training with a fast 60sec lap and knew that he could always repeat the time at the end of a race. He won in 30min 29.6sec.
His wife, Joyce, was sitting in the stands with 5-month-old daughter Gay during the race.
Nelson cherished a photograph of himself feeding Gay after the race that appeared in the Wellington Sports Post.
He also won a silver medal in the three miles in Auckland.
Nelson won six New Zealand senior men's titles during his career: mile (1947), three miles (1947-48), six miles (1948) and cross-country (1946, 1951).
He later coached athletes such as New Zealand champions Peter Pearless, Wally McCallum, Lyndon Chandler and Anna and Natasha Buckley.
He officiated and directed meets and was always there with his stopwatch. He received an MBE for his services to sport.
He died at his home in Nelson in early July, at the age of 88.
