11th July 2010: Mt Smart Stadium Kia ora, Racewalking Auckland, in conjunction with Race Walking New Zealand, annually presents an opportunity to commemorate a historic event for racewalking and New Zealand sport; NZ's first Olympic Medal, achieved when race walker Harry Kerr finished third and won bronze in the 1908 Olympic Games.  This event also incorporates the Racewalking New Zealand 5 x 10,000m Track Walk Relay Championships. The 2010 Entry form and Race information can be obtained from the links below Programme details will be advised shortly   2010 Entry Form:                  Click here 2010 Race Information:          Click here   2010 Results:                       Click here 2009 Results:                       Click here 2009 Photos:                        Click here                                       2008    Peter Helreigel It is fitting that our starter for the 2008 Harry Kerr Centennial Relay was Peter Helreigel.  Peter was one of New Zealand’s leading racewalkers in the early 1950’s, becoming New Zealand Junior Champion in 1948 and 1949.  Peter won the New Zealand Senior Mile Track Walk Title in 1952, 27 years after Harry Kerr last won the same championship in 1925.  He is thus a tangible link back to the track walking champions of the past.  The mile and 3 mile track walks were part of the New Zealand Athletic Championship program from 1888 until track walking was discontinued at the Championships in 1955.  A 22 year absence of track walking followed until the 5,000m track walk was introduced into the program in 1976.   Peter Helreigel winning Mile Walk Eden Park, Auckland 1950’s RESULTS Results for the inaugural 2008 Harry Kerr 5 x 10,000m Track Relay and Arthur Rowland 3500m Track Walk can be found here. HARRY KERR & ALBERT ROWLAND EVENTS RACE RECORDS Team Record Auckland A:     Mike Parker                52:36               4:24:10            2008 David Sim                    53:23 Kevin Burge                 57:26 David Matulovich        54:05 Tony Sargisson            46:40 Individual Record Tony Sargisson            0:46:40            2008 Harry Kerr/Albert Rowland 3500m Stephen Appel             0:17:10            2008 Harry Kerr Relay Top Twenty Individual Times  Rank  Name   Time  Year  1  Tony Sargisson   46:40  2008  2  Glenn Burrell  50:19  2008  3  Mike Parker  51:06  2009  4  Mike Parker  52:36  2008  5  Stephen Farquhar  52:53  2008   6  Peter Baillie  53:08  2008  7  David Sim  53:23  2008  8  David Matulovich  54:05  2008  9  Peter Baillie  54:21  2009  10  Eric Kemsley  55:32  2008  11  Alana Barber (F)  56:54  2009  12  David Sim  57:24  2009  13  Kevin Burge  57:26   2008  14  Phillip Wyatt  59:15  2009  15  Wayne Loveridge  59:35  2008  16  Frank Smedley  59:51  2009  17  Russell Smyth  59:56  2008  18  Vanessa Lowl (F)  60:13  2008   19  Rachel Gilberd (F)  60:38  2008  20  Nyle Sunderland (F)  60:54  2008   HARRY KERR 28 January 1879 - 17 May 1951 Birthplace: Tariki, New Zealand Games Attented: 1908 London Summer Olympics Sport: Athletics; Racewalking Place: Bronze; 3rd 3500m Racewalk Race Time: 15:43.4 On July 14, 1908, Harry Kerr became the first New Zealander to win an Olympic medal. He took the bronze medal in the 3500m walk at the London Olympics in 15min 43.4s after a scare when he almost missed the start line of the race.  He received his tiny bronze medal, about a third the size of the medals handed out today, in a small box on which was engraved "Olympic Games, Third Prize, 3500 Metres Walk, LONDON, 1908".  Kerr, born in Taranaki in 1879, always had unusual sports ability. He was a champion shooter, loved rugby, and was good at most track and field events. But walking particularly caught the attention of the strapping (6ft 4in or 1.93m) Kerr.  As was often the custom at the turn of the 20th century, he bypassed the major meets of the day to compete professionally, and was a regular at the big New Year's Day pro meet at the Caledonian Ground in Dunedin, where he conceded massive handicaps.  Kerr eventually decided to turn amateur, which necessitated standing down from all competition for two years.  He took his two-year hiatus in 1905-06, and dedicated himself to clearing bush on the family farm at Tariki, near Stratford.  Once eligible for championship meets, he quickly stamped his class and secured his Olympic selection by winning Australasian one and three-mile titles at Hobart in early 1908.  Kerr returned from London a national celebrity and continued to dominate the national scene, winning three further New Zealand titles in 1911-12.   His greatest walk was at the national champs in Wellington in 1911, when he won the three-mile race in 21min 36.6s, which remained the national record until 1946. He also enjoyed great success at the Australasian champs, winning two titles at both the 1909 and 1911 meetings. He virtually retired in 1912, marrying Isobelle in 1913 and serving in Europe during World War I. But one of the highlights of his career was yet to come.   The national champs were held in nearby Wanganui in 1925 and Kerr, by then 46, decided to make a comeback.  He worked hard to regain his fitness, training by walking up and down the railway track near his farm.  After ruining a pair of boots on the rough terrain, he then cleared a circular track around his house and did his training there.  Kerr's diligence was rewarded when he won the one and three-mile titles at the nationals. The New Zealand Herald headlined its report “Wonderful Performance for Man of His Age” and described his feat as "little short of marvellous".  Always an outgoing character, Kerr continued to follow sport avidly. He represented Taranaki as a lawn bowler and was a regular attender at big rep rugby matches in Taranaki until his death from cancer, in 1951.  Kerr was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. ALBERT ROWLAND 26 October 1885 - 23 July 1918 Birthplace: Christchurch, New Zealand Games Attended: 1908 London Summer Olympics Sport: Athletics; Racewalking Place: Diploma; 5th 3500m Racewalk Race Time: 16:07.0 Two places behind Harry Kerr in the 1908 London Olympics race in 16min 07.0s was fellow Kiwi Arthur Rowland, who had previously won the national one and three mile titles in 1906/7 to gain selection.  Arthur Rowland, who was an optician, returned to NZ much later than Kerr after the Olympics, where he helped establish the Wellington Scottish Athletics Club in 1915.  He also served in World War 1 as an officer in the NZ Rifle Brigade, but was tragically killed in action in France on 23 July 1918.   Above information courtesy of www.olympics.org.nz, Taranaki Daily News & Official Report of the Games of the IV Olympiad (1908). BELOW: 1908 LONDON SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES RACE (Harry Kerr; third from right and Albert Rowland; far right) BELOW: HARRY KERR’S 1908 OLYMPIC GAMES BRONZE MEDAL BELOW: HARRY KERR’S 1908 OLYMPIC GAMES RACE VEST BELOW: HARRY KERR ON BOAT (bottom row middle) BELOW: HARRY KERR WALKING (1925 National Title Race: Winner Harry Kerr) BELOW: ALBERT ROWLAND (left) WITH BROTHER BELOW: HARRY KERR CENTENNIAL RELAY SHIELD BELOW: HARRY KERR CENTENNIAL RELAY 2008 CERTIFICATE   Above images courtesy of Rose Kerr and Racewalking Auckland.