Peter Nelson (26 April 1931 – 2 February 1977) was an Australian Olympic

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

and track cyclist. He was South Australian state champion in 1950 for the 15, 25 and 50-mile events, and again in 1953 for the 50-mile events. He attended the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

as part of the Australian road cycling team in the 190 km event and in the track team for the 4000 m team pursuit.

Biography

Peter Nelson was born on 26 April 1931 in

Black Forest, South Australia Black Forest is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Unley, bounded by the Glenelg tram line (north-west), the Seaford railway line (south-east), South Road (west) and East Avenue (east). Histo ...

, the son of

wheelwright A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...

and automotive manufacturing engineer Frederick Nelson, and his wife Winifred (née Mostyn). He was educated at

Christian Brothers College, Adelaide Christian Brothers College (CBC) is a private Catholic school in Adelaide, South Australia. It was founded by a group of Irish Christian Brothers in 1878. It is now one of three Christian Brothers schools in the state, along with St Paul's C ...

. Nelson won his first race as a 16-year-old in 1947, and thereafter committed himself to become a professional cyclist. Jim Nestor, a two-time Olympian, took interest in him and encouraged him to train as a road cyclist and to join a club. Nelson joined the Sturt Cycling Club, based at the outdoor

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

at Edwardstown Recreational Ground. His resolution and commitment paid off. In 1950 he was 15, 25 and 50 mile state champion and was included on the state senior team. He was successful in the 100 mile Mail Run and won the Adelaide-Milang one day classic. In 1951, he won the road race in the Australian Olympic trials and was included in the Australian team to compete in Helsinki. En route to Helsinki, Nelson met his future wife,

Marjorie Jackson Marjorie Jackson-Nelson (born 13 September 1931) is an Australian former athlete and politician. She was the Governor of South Australia between 2001 and 2007. She finished her sporting career with two Olympic and seven Commonwealth Games Gold ...

. At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Nelson competed in the 190 km event and in the track team for the 4000m team pursuit. Despite extremely high expectations, the Australian team finished only seventeenth. Many blame this on the interruption to training the team experienced while being accommodated in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It was extremely difficult to train in the congested, populous city. Nelson returned to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and in 1953 he reclaimed his title as 50 mile state champion. Later that year on 7 November, he was married to Marjorie Jackson in Lithgow,

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 ...

. Both returned to Adelaide the following year and retired from their sports. The couple settled down on an almond orchard outside

Mclaren Vale McLaren Vale is a wine region in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Adelaide metropolitan area and centred on the town of McLaren Vale about south of the Adelaide city centre. It is internationally renowned for the wi ...

where they raised three children. Later in life Nelson was involved heavily with the Unley Rotary Club and was instrumental in establishing the Unley Memorial Swimming Pool, where he later taught swimming classes.

Death

Peter Nelson died of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on 2 February 1977 aged 45 years old. The Peter Nelson Leukaemia Foundation stands in his honour, established by his widow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Peter 1931 births 1977 deaths Australian male cyclists Cyclists from Adelaide Cyclists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Australia Deaths from leukemia in Australia Deaths from cancer in South Australia Australian track cyclists Sportsmen from South Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen