Billy Kerr (26 February 1945 – 14 August 2012) was an Irish

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

. He competed in the individual road race event at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Biography

Kerr was born in February 1945 in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. At the age of 16, Kerr was working in a local shoe factory and later joined the Ballymena Road Club. However, as a junior cyclist, Kerr initially had to give up the sport due to a back injury. After successful physiotherapy, Kerr won multiple club races and national championships in the 1970s. Kerr's took part in the road race and team pursuit events at the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

, his first international races. Four years later, at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

, Kerr was part of the team that finished in fourth place in the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

. He also competed at three editions of the

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Kerr was part of the Irish team for the

in Moscow, finishing in 41st place in the individual road race. In 1980, Kerr won the

King of the Mountains The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest ...

classification in the

Milk Race The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after th ...

, and in 1982, Kerr won the

Tour of Ireland The Tour of Ireland ( Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four. T ...

. At the

Irish National Cycling Championships The Irish National Cycling Championships are annual cycle sport, cycling races to decide the Irish National Cycling Championships, cycling champion for several disciplines, across several categories of rider. The men's road championship is usual ...

, Kerr won the men's time trial in 1981, and the men's road race in 1982. Kerr was also a two-time winner of the

Tour of Ulster The Tour of Ulster is a road bicycle racing stage race held around the Irish province of Ulster, divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was first run in 1956. It is rated as a National Event on the Union Cycliste Inte ...

. Kerr died in August 2012 following a short illness, at the age of 67.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Billy 1945 births 2012 deaths Irish male cyclists Olympic cyclists for Ireland Cyclists at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Ballymena Rás Tailteann winners 20th-century Irish sportsmen