Henry Corris "Corrie" Gardner (12 March 1879 – 6 August 1960) was an Australian track and field athlete who competed in the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

, and played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

for Essendon Football Club and

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

. Gardner was a member of the Melburnian Hare & Hounds Athletics Club and when aged 25 years old he travelled to St. Louis,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, to compete at the

, on arrival he was surprised no accommodation had been arranged and was sent to a park to the tent community. In the competition he first entered the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, with no qualification round it was straight in to the final, there are no official records of the distance he jumped but it is known he finished outside the first six out of nine athletes. A couple of days later he was on the track competing in the

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a rac ...

, although his time isn't known he did finish last in his heat so didn't qualify for the final later that day. Gardner was the Australian national champion in the 1899–1900 season for the 120 yard hurdles, and also

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

champion in the same event in 1903. He also played

, where he used his pace and running skills on the wing for the Essendon Football Club in 1898 and the

between 1900 and 1905. He was a member of Melbourne's first premiership side in 1900. His brother

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

also played for Melbourne, but missed playing in the premiership side due to injury.

References

External links

List of Australian athletes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Corrie 1879 births 1960 deaths Australian male long jumpers Australian male hurdlers Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Essendon Football Club players Melbourne Football Club players People educated at Melbourne Grammar School Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Melbourne Football Club premiership players VFL/AFL premiership players Athletes from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Australian Athletics Championships winners 19th-century Australian sportsmen 20th-century Australian sportsmen