Nigel Chase Barker (26 February 1883 – 31 July 1948) was an Australian

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, who is regarded as holder of Australia's first athletics world record, in the 400 yards, and is an

Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

bronze medalist. Barker was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and attended

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

(1895–1901) and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. He is described in the official Olympic history of Australia as "an outstanding all-rounder". He played representative

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and was twice selected for Australia in rugby but was forced to decline on both occasions. In 1904, Barker was selected for the St. Louis Games, but injured an ankle playing rugby. A public subscription raised the funds for Barker to compete in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

for the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

, at the games he competed in two events, first up was the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

, in the first round he finished in second place behind

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Lawson Robertson Lawson "Robbie" N. Robertson (September 23, 1883 – January 22, 1951) was considered one of the more accomplished American track coaches of the first half of the twentieth century. From 1904-1936, he was with the American team at every Olympic ...

, in the semi-finals he finished second again, one yard behind another American William Eaton, in the final, running from lane 2, he finished in third place for the bronze medal behind another two Americans,

Archie Hahn Archie Hahn may refer to: * Archie Hahn (actor) (born 1941), American actor * Archie Hahn (athlete) Charles Archibald Hahn (September 14, 1880 – January 21, 1955) was an American track athlete and is widely regarded as one of the best sprin ...

and

Fay Moulton Fay R. Moulton (April 7, 1876 – February 19, 1945) was an American Olympic sprinter, college football player and coach, and lawyer. He served as the fifth head football coach at Kansas State Agricultural College (Kansas State University), hold ...

. On the same day as the 100 metres final, he also competed in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

, in his first-round heat he won in a time of 53 seconds and qualified for the final, after a couple of days' rest he finished again in bronze medal position behind

Paul Pilgrim Paul Henry Pilgrim (October 26, 1883 – January 8, 1958) was an American runner. He competed at the 1904, 1906 and 1908 Olympics and won three gold medals in 1904 and 1906. At the 1904 Summer Olympics, Pilgrim failed to complete the 400 m and ...

and

James Lightbody James Davies Lightbody (March 16, 1882 – March 2, 1953) was an American middle distance runner, winner of six Olympic medals (two of which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee following its downgrading o ...

. At the end of his athletic career Barker had won ten National Championship titles from 1903 to 1910. Since 2012,

have awarded the Nigel C Barker Medal for Sport Achievement named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Nigel 1883 births 1948 deaths Australian male sprinters Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games Olympic athletes for Australia Australian rugby union players People educated at Newington College Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games Rugby union players from Sydney Athletes from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Australian sportsmen