Eric William Hall (15 September 1932 – 20 March 2022)[1] was a British racewalker.[2] He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 1960 Summer Olympics,[3] and was a member of the Belgrave Harriers.[4]

Eric Hall
Personal information
Full nameEric William Hall
NationalityBritish
Born(1932-09-15)15 September 1932
Oxshott, Surrey, England
Died20 March 2022(2022-03-20) (aged 89)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventRacewalking

Biography

edit

Hall was born in Oxshott, Surrey, in 1932.[5] He went to the Tiffin Grammar School in Kingston upon Thames,[4] where he took up cross country running and cricket.[1] He became a racewalker after doing weekend walks from the house his grandmother lived in.[2] In November 1948, at the age of sixteen, he joined the Belgrave Harriers.[1] After leaving school, Hall joined the Customs and Excise Office.[6]

Hall won nine Surrey County Road Walking titles over multiple distances.[1] Stan Vickers also joined the Belgrave Harriers, and he and Hall began to race against each other.[1] In 1955, Hall finished third in the National Road Walking Championships, and a year later, he finished in second place in the National 50km event.[2] That performance was good enough to earn Hall selection on the British Olympic team.[1]

Hall competed at two Olympic Games.[7] At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Hall competed in the men's 50 kilometres walk, where he finished in ninth place.[8] Four years later, at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, he competed in the men's 20 kilometres walk, finishing in tenth place.[9] He also entered the trials for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but was not selected after finishing in fifth place.[1]

He became the president of the Belgrave Harriers in 1999,[2] and later became the treasurer of the British Olympians Society.[1] Hall died in March 2022, at the age of 89.[10] At the time of his death, Hall was the oldest member of the Belgrave Harriers.[11]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Eric Hall". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Two-time Olympian and Belgrave stalwart Eric Hall dies". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Eric Hall Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Eric W. Hall, 1932-2022". Belgrave Harriers. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Tributes paid to double walking Olympian Eric Hall". Gazette News. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Eric Hall RIP – Fond memories of a Belgravian in Lancashire". Lancashire Walking Club. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Essex Olympian tips London 2012 to produce future stars". BBC News. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  8. ^ "50 kilometres Walk, Men (1956)". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  9. ^ "20 kilometres Walk, Men (1960)". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Eric Hall Death, British Athlete Dies At Age 89". Death-Obituary.com. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Eric Hall Death – Oldest and longest-serving Belgravian has died". Inside Eko. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
edit