Edwin "Eddie" Halstead (7 September 1907 – 1962), formerly Edith Halstead, was an English

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

who competed at the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

Biography

Halstead became the national javelin champion after winning the British

WAAA Championships The WAAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) in England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event for women during its lifetime. Since 1880, the Amateur Athl ...

title at the

1932 WAAA Championships The 1932 WAAA Championships were the national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The event was held at Stamford Bridge, London, on 9 July 1932. Ethel Johnson broke the 100 yards world record in the heats, setting a ...

. Halstread regained the WAAA javelin title at the

1934 WAAA Championships The 1934 WAAA Championships were the national track and field championships for women in the United Kingdom. The event was held at Herne Hill Velodrome, Herne Hill Athletics Ground, London, on 30 June 1934. The athletics track and field area w ...

and shortly afterwards at the 1934 British Empire Games in London, Halstead won a silver medal in the women's

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

competition. Halstead's sister Nellie competed at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

and the 1934 Empire Games. Later, as part of a

gender transition Gender transition is the process of affirming and expressing one's internal sense of gender, rather than the sex assigned to them at birth. It is a recommended course of treatment for individuals experiencing gender dysphoria, providing impro ...

, Halstead changed his name to Edwin.

References

1907 births 1962 deaths English javelin throwers Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Transgender sportsmen English transgender sportspeople LGBTQ track and field athletes 20th-century English LGBTQ people Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games English transgender men Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics {{England-javelinthrow-athletics-bio-stub