Nellie Halstead

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Nellie Halstead

| image =OdG 1931 - British athletes.png

| caption =Halstead (1. on right)

| nationality = British (English)

| sport = Athletics

| event = Sprints/400m

| club = Bury & Radcliffe AC

| birth_date = 19 September 1910

| birth_place = Radcliffe, Lancashire, England

| death_date = 11 November 1991 (aged 81)

| death_place = Bury, England

| height =

| weight =

| pb =

| medaltemplates=

{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}

{{Medal|Country|{{ENG}}}}

}}

Nellie Halstead (19 September 1910 – 11 November 1991){{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Olympedia – Nellie Halstead |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/68670 |website=olympedia.org |publisher=OlyMADMen |access-date=30 September 2022 |language= |date=}} was an English track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. There is a running track named after her in Radcliffe.{{citation |title=Nellie Halstead |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/nellie-halstead-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418042627/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/nellie-halstead-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |accessdate=14 August 2012}}

Biography

Halstead was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire and died in Bury. She was a member of Bury Athletic Club and Radcliffe Athletic Club.

Halstead became national 220 yards champion after winning the British WAAA Championships title at the 1930 WAAA Championships in a world record time of 25.2 sec.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000649/19300818/013/0013 |title=Women Athletes |work=Liverpool Daily Post |date=18 August 1930 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 January 2025 }} The following year, Halstead won three WAAA titles, retaining her 220 yards crown and also becoming national 100 yards champion and national 440 yards champion at the 1931 WAAA Championships.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003359/19310712/256/0019 |title=Women Set Up new Records |work=Weekly Dispatch (London) |date=12 July 1931 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 January 2025 }}

She won gold medals in the 60 metres and 200 metres at the Olympics of Grace in 1931.{{cite web | url =http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/fsfi.htm | title =Olympiad of Grace | publisher =Gbrathletics | access-date =12 August 2018 }} Halstead continued her success by retaining her 200 and 440 yards titles at the 1932 WAAA Championships and winning the 400 metres title at the 1933 WAAA Championships.{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=23 January 2025 }}

She competed for Great Britain as one of Britain's first women track Olympians in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, where in the 4×100 metres she won the bronze medal with her team mates Eileen Hiscock, Gwendoline Porter and Violet Webb (replacing the injured Ethel Johnson).

At the 1934 Empire Games she was a member of the England relay team which won the gold medal in the 110-220-110 yards relay event and the silver medal in the 220-110-220-110 yards relay competition (with Eileen Hiscock, Halstead, Ethel Johnson and Ivy Walker).[http://www.commonwealthgames.com/ Commonwealth Games results] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723215731/http://www.commonwealthgames.com/ |date=23 July 2008 }}. CWG. Retrieved 24 October 2015. In the 220 yards she won the bronze medal.{{cite web|url=https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/sydney-1938/athletes |title=Sydney 1938 Team |website=Team England |access-date=24 January 2025 }}

Halstead won further WAAA titles in the 800 metres at the 1935 WAAA Championships in a national record time of 2:15.6 and at the 1938 WAAA Championships{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19350810/088/0010 |title=Athletics |work=Hull Daily Mail |date=10 August 1935 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 January 2025 }} and a 400 metres title at the 1937 WAAA Championships.

According to historian Jean Williams, Halstead also played as a centre forward for the Dick, Kerr's Ladies football team.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuIp04RvKX8C&q=dick+kerr+washington+stars&pg=PA78 |title=A beautiful game: international perspectives on women's football |publisher=Berg |year=2007 |author=Jean Williams |accessdate=2011-09-28 |isbn=978-1-84520-674-1 |page=78 |quote=Nellie Halstead, who later played centre forward for Dick, Kerr, won bronze in the 1936 Olympic games.}}{{citation |title=Nellie Halstead |url=http://www.radcliffeac.org.uk/?page_id=1046 |publisher=Radcliffe AC |accessdate=14 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214151403/http://www.radcliffeac.org.uk/?page_id=1046 |archivedate=14 February 2015 }}

She also competed in the 1.9-mile women's race before the International Cross Country Championships, winning the title for England.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/ixc.htm International Cross Country Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2015-04-03.