Shirley Ngarita Peterson (née Hardman; 24 July 1928 – 19 July 2019) was a New Zealand track and field athlete. She represented her country at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

, winning a silver medal in the women's 440 yards relay. From 1980, she became active in

masters athletics Masters Athletics managed by World Masters Athletics is a class of the sport of athletics (sport), athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over organized by World Masters Athletics. The events include track and field, road running and cross ...

, setting world records in various events and age-group categories, and winning multiple world masters athletics championship titles.

Early life and family

Peterson was born Shirley Ngarita Hardman on 24 July 1928, to Gladys Dulcie Hardman (née Watt) and Edwin Arthur Hardman, and she spent her early years in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

. Her father died in 1934, and after her mother died in 1943 she was placed in an orphanage. Educated at

King Edward Technical College King Edward Technical College is a former technical college in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was established in 1889 as the Dunedin Technical School when the Caledonian Society of Otago instigated Night school, night education classes. B ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, she married William Eric Harold Peterson in 1952. Their children include Bev Peterson, who represented New Zealand in athletics at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

, and Evan Peterson, who won national athletics titles in 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 ...

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

and 400 m hurdles.

Athletics

Hardman began running as a student at Invercargill Primary School, and later won all of the sprint titles at King Edward Technical College. In 1944 she was successful at the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

schools athletics championships. In 1946, Hardman won her first national track and field title, the long jump, with a best leap of . It was, however, as a sprinter that she enjoyed the greatest success, winning the New Zealand 75 yards title every year from 1949 to 1953, and the 100 yards in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, and 1953. In a 100 yards race at the

Caledonian Ground The Caledonian Ground, often simply known as "The Caley", is a major sports venue in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is primarily used for football (soccer) and athletics, and has a capacity of 7,500. Location The Caledonian Ground is curre ...

in Dunedin in 1947, Hardman unofficially recorded 10.8 seconds, to equal the world record for the distance at that time. However, as there was only one timekeeper, the time was not ratified. At the

, Hardman competed in the 100 yards sprint, the 440 yards relay, and the 660 yards relay. In the 100 yards, she finished fifth in the final, posting a time of 11.3 seconds. She was a member of the New Zealand trio, with

Lesley Rowe Lesley Martha Gibson (née Rowe, 21 March 1929 – 5 July 2011) was a New Zealand sprinter who, as Lesley Rowe, won a silver medal representing her country at the 1950 British Empire Games. Early life and family Rowe was born in the Auckland s ...

and

Dorothea Parker Mary Dorothea Smith (née Parker; 10 August 1928 – 24 December 1993) was a New Zealand sprinter. At the 1950 British Empire Games she won a silver medal in the 440 yards relay, alongside Shirley Hardman and Lesley Rowe. She also ran in the 10 ...

, that won the silver medal in the 440 yards relay with a time of 48.7 seconds. In the 660 yards relay, the New Zealand women were leading going into the final baton change to Hardman. However, the baton was dropped and Hardman incorrectly retrieved it. She crossed the finish line in second place, but the New Zealand quartet was disqualified. After marrying, Peterson competed in one final national athletics championship in 1953 before retiring to raise a family. Returning to athletics when she was 52 years old, Peterson went on to compete in a range of track and field events, breaking numerous world masters athletics records. These include: In 1989, Peterson won four gold medals at the

World Masters Athletics Championships The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. At the 2001 event in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, she won gold and bronze medals in the 80 metres hurdles and triple jump, respectively. At the 2002

World Masters Games The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind. Governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the World Mas ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Peterson won the W70 triple jump gold medal with a distance of 7.32 metres. Peterson died on 19 July 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardman, Shirley 1928 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Invercargill People educated at King Edward Technical College New Zealand female sprinters Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games New Zealand masters athletes Place of birth missing Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games New Zealand Athletics Championships winners 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics