| Roland Hardy | |
| Nationality: | British |
| Sport: | Racewalking |
| Birth Date: | 11 June 1926 |
| Birth Place: | Sheepbridge, Derbyshire, England |
| Death Place: | Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England |
Roland Hardy (11 June 1926 - 14 June 2016)[1] was a British racewalker who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics.[2] He was born in Sheepbridge, Derbyshire.[3] Hardy was a five-time national champion in the 7 miles walk and a two-time national champion in the 2 miles walk.[4]
Hardy was born in Sheepbridge, Derbyshire, in June 1926.[2] At school, Hardy took part in both cricket and football.[2] In the latter, he was noticed by Sheffield United's manager Teddy Davison, who signed him to play for the side.[2] However, Hardy's National service stopped him from taking up a career in football.[2] In April 1949, Hardy began to take up race walking, where he joined the Sheffield United Harriers.[2] Later that year, Hardy won the 1949 Sheffield Star Walk, breaking the course record by 53 seconds.[5]
In August 1951, Hardy set a new world record in the 5-mile walk, beating the previous time by nine seconds,[2] and then broke the British 7-mile record one year later.[2] With this form, Hardy was selected to represent Great Britain at the Olympics.[6]
Hardy competed at two Olympic Games.[7] At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Hardy took part in the men's 10 kilometres walk, but was disqualified in his heat.[8] Four years later, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, he finished in eighth place in the men's 20 kilometres walk.[9]
He died in June 2016, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, at the age of 90.[10] [11]