Robert Kerr (athlete)

Robert " Bobby" Kerr ( born June 9, 1882 in Enniskillen in what is now Northern Ireland, † May 12 1963 in Hamilton, Ontario) was a Canadian track and field athlete, Olympic champion and later a sports official.

Life

The Irishman emigrated at the age of five with his parents to Canada, where he worked as a firefighter after his schooling. In his spare time, he has coached numerous track events and quickly became the fastest sprinter regionally. At his first Olympic participation in the Olympic Games 1904 in St. Louis, he retired in the preliminary rounds in the space occupied by him from three disciplines (60 m, 100 m, 200 m). In the period following his times were better, and he broke all Canadian records in the sprint distances 40-220 yards.

In 1908 he won the British Championships in the 100 and 200 yards. At the Olympic Games in London in 1908 he won the bronze medal in the 100 -meter run behind the South Africans Reggie Walker (Gold ) and the American student James Rector (silver), the next day, even the gold medal in the 200 -meter run before the two Americans Robert Cloughen (Silver) and Nate Cartmell (bronze).

After his playing days as an athlete he coached the athletes and football teams from Hamilton and was at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 and 1932 in Los Angeles, one of the marshals. He then became a member of the Canadian Olympic Association and one of the organizers of the British Empire Games in 1930 in Hamilton.