The Polytechnic Harriers is an athletic club
| Founded | 1883 |
|---|---|
| Ground | Kingsmeadow Athletics Stadium |
| Location | Kingston Road, Kingston upon Thames KT1 3PB |
| Coordinates | 51°24′17″N 0°17′02″W / 51.40472°N 0.28389°W |
| Website | kingstonandpoly |
Hitory
editThe club was founded by philanthropist Quintin Hogg in 1883, and they were known for four years as the Hanover United AC, and were the athletics arm of Quintin Hogg's Regent Street Polytechnic.[1] The Polytechnic Harriers were based at the Chiswick track and their history with racing events predated "the Poly" since they oversaw walking races from London to Brighton as far back as 1897.[2][3]
The club has long ties to what is now the London Marathon. In 1908 they oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1908 Olympics, the Game's marathon, and played a large part in the development of the Polytechnic Marathon, which ran from 1909- 1996.[4][5][6][7]
In 1985 The Polytechnic Harriers merged with The Royal Borough of Kingston AC, a women's club that evolved from Surrey AC, to become the Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers (Kingston & Poly). The Polytechnic's Kinnaird and Sward Trophies are still contested annually at Kingston & Poly's home track, which is adjacent to the football stadium at Kingsmeadow. The Polytechnic Marathon is no longer held, having been superseded by the London Marathon. Kingston & Poly's men now compete nationally in the British Athletics League and, at area level, the men and women operate jointly in the Southern Athletics League, although they were relegated to lesser divisions in 2016.[8]
Olympic athletes
edit- Willie Applegarth (1912 gold)
- Jeannette Bailey
- McDonald Bailey
- James Barker
- Henry Barrett
- James Barrett
- Guy Brockington
- Colin Campbell
- Timothy Carroll
- Frederick Chauncy
- Paul Crosfield
- Larry Cummins
- Victor d'Arcy (1912 gold)
- Charlie Davies
- Charles Denroche
- Harry Edward (Britain's first Black medalist)[10]
- Lorna Frampton
- Fred Gaby
- Cyril Gill
- Tim Graham
- Oswald Groenings
- George Hawkins
- Peter Hildreth
- Albert Hill (1920 gold x 2)
- Guy Holdaway
- Rene Howell
- Stan Jones
- Leslie Laing (1952 gold)
- Georg Lind
- Jack London
- Percy Mann
- Douglas McNicol
- Arthur Muggridge
- Henry Murray
- George Nicol
- Bert Norris
- John Odde
- Alan Pascoe
- Ron Pavitt
- Martin Pike
- Aubrey Reeve
- Richard Ripley
- Eric Robertson
- Brian Shenton
- Edward Spencer
- Clive Taylor
- Arthur Treble
- Jimmy Tremeer
- Stan West
- Doug Wilson
- Arthur Wint (1948 & 1952 gold)
Archives
editThe Club's archives are still held at the University of Westminster.[11]
References
edit- ^ Kingston Athletics Club & Polytechnic Harriers History of the club 03-07-2007 Archived June 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bryant, John (17 April 2009). The Marathon Makers. Kings Road Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84358-228-1. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Clapson, Mark (1 November 2014). "Global Sport in the Suburbs: The Regent Street Polytechnic's Sports Facilities at Chiswick, 1888–1938". The London Journal. 39 (3): 265–280. doi:10.1179/0305803414Z.00000000052. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 144590927.
- ^ Polley, Martin (1 July 2009). "From Windsor Castle to White City: The 1908 Olympic Marathon Route" (PDF). The London Journal. 34 (2): 163–178. doi:10.1179/174963209X442441. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 162023260.
- ^ Hill, Dave (23 April 2016). "London Marathon: 35 years of change in 26.2 miles". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Usborne, Simon (23 October 2011). "Timeline: The marathon". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Poly History – Harriers Athletic Club – Polytechnic Football Club". Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Athletics: Kingston & Polytechnic Harriers fall at final British League hurdle". Your Local Guardian. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Polytechnic Harriers, Westminster (GBR)". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ Dawkins, Sarah (16 October 2020). "Harry Edward: The Berlin-born POW who became Britain's first black Olympic medallist". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ "Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club - University of Westminster › Records and Archives". westminster-atom.arkivum.net. University of Westminster. Retrieved 2 July 2021.