Athletics GOLD Home
Page |
Profile - Clarice Kennedy
|
||||||
 |
Clarice Kennedy was one of Australia's greatest women athletes prior to World War II. |
|||||
|
Clarice Kennedy was born in the Sydney suburb of Double Bay in 1910. She first trained trying to keep up with her brother who was five years older and riding his bike. ‘I used to be a bit of a tomboy.' she said. Clarice attended Darlinghurst Superior Public School where further training consisted of stealing boys caps and running away with them. She was popular and successful in primary school sports with other girls 'fighting' to get in her teams. In 1924 she went to Fort St. High School and won the school championship every year she attended. Miss Fuller, the sportsmistress, was very encouraging.
Kennedy laughs when saying she "took up the hurdles because she started to win races." After a few knocks and cuts in her earliest races, she realised she had better improve her technique. She had many 'advisers' but claims she never really had a real coach, teaching herself mainly from overseas texts. 'Rosa (Winter) was about the first of the hurdlers beating me. Men would give us some advice and we would watch them compete. "What could I have done today?" she laments, describing her own preparation as "humble jogging and basic training" As the athletics programme expanded she tried just about every event, setting records in most fields. She was also a diving and swimming (backstroke) champion and toured the state swimming circuit as a diver. She was criticised for not concentrating on the hurdles and after her great 1929/30 season, was especially criticised for mixing athletics with swimming and diving. Kennedy says 'I received my greatest acclamation as an all-rounder' and found the aquatic prizes and trophies lucrative. 'In athletics we were always awarded cups, but swimming was much better. You were given money in a cheque and could put it together at the end of the season to buy a tea-set or vase as your choice of trophy.' She became disillusioned with athletics officials early in her career and a litany of unratified records, non-selections and other disappointments dogged her career. 'Eight timekeepers ratified my 12.2 80H WR and I was awarded great trophies, but the time was never forwarded on.' She began teaching in a number of Sydney schools and colleges in the early thirties. After her successful world record streak in December 1930 she fractured her kneecap in a 90yH race, despite setting a national record for the new event. She was told she'd walk with a stiff knee for rest of life and her athletics career was over. An unregistered German doctor contacted the Kennedys to offer free medical assistance (he wanted to use the publicity from his intended success). He supervised her surgery and subsequent rehabilitation -she was out of athletics for ten months and 'would have been happy to just walk again'. Her rehab. included swimming ('he was ahead of his time with things like resistance techniques') and if she limped he would hit her with his cane! She enjoyed starting to hurdle again in 1932, but was denied a chance to defend her hurdles national championship and try to achieve Olympic selection. Her injury had prevented her from competing for much of the season and she was unable to earn a selection in the NSW team. She applied to run as an individual but the request was turned down by officials. Kennedy began to expand her repetoire of athletics events. She began to race over 440y and 880y and won the NSW two mile Cross Country championship (14min32) in August 1932. A left-handed thrower (and also used this hand for writing, drawing and playing tennis), she set records in Shot, Discus and Javelin events. Her sporting program in the thirties consisted of swimming competition on Saturday mornings and then off to the Sydney Sports Ground for the 2pm start of interclub athletics. She would train most days after work using school facilities or going down to Moore Park to train individually. Her social life was filled with still more sporting entertainment. She was a cricket and hockey fan, particularly remembering the visiting Indian teams, and also enjoyed ballet. Another hobby was autograph hunting; she was thrilled to get signatures from the aviators Amy Johnson and Charles Kingsford-Smith as well as her own sporting heroes.
The following year, she was disappointed when women's athletes were not selected in the Australian team for the 1934 Empire Games. 'The men cut out all women's representation in the 1934 Games. They argued the finances necessary to provided chaperones and extra trainers for the women were too great.' Her bad luck continued through to the Berlin Olympic Games. Despite being rated highly in world rankings and winning fourevents at the National Games (Olympic trials) and being the 1936 national hurdles and javelin champion, she was not named in the Olympic team. Doris Carter, the High Jumper, was to be the only female selection.
In June 1936, the Australian Olympic Federation presented Kennedy with a wristwatch as a token of her assistance in drawing the design of the diploma which was presented to winners and runners-up at the National Games. In late 1937, Kennedy could not retain her National Championship in the hurdles or Javelin, hampered by an injury to her right leg. Still, shw was relieved to finally gain selection in the Australian Empire Games team held in her home town of Sydney. She was also selected as a masseur for the British girls. She got to know a lot of the girls from overseas socially and was often quoted in the press as a regular spokesperson for the Australian women's team.
Author's Note: As yet, I have been unable to locate any performances from Clarice Kennedy during the 1953/4 period. PERSONAL BESTS 100y 11.6 Sydney 02 Nov 29 100m 13.0 Adelaide 25 Jan 36 200m 25.7 Adelaide 27 Jan 36 220y 26.4 Sydney 01 Nov 32 400m 59.8 Sydney 14 Jan 33 440y 60.0 Sydney 14 Jan 33 800m 2-29.0 Sydney 14 Jan 33 880y 2-29.8 Sydney 14 Jan 33 80H 12.2 Sydney 18 Jan 30 90H 12.3 HJ SP 9.91 Sydney 13 Feb 32 DIS 26.71 Adelaide 27 Jan 36 JAV 35.94 Sydney 18 Jan 36 PROGRESS Year 100y 80H Shot Javelin 1924 12.4 1925 12.0 1926 12.0 1927 11.6 1928 11.8 1929 11.6 12.8 1930 12.2 9.31 1931 14.0y 9.72 27.45 1932 11.5e 12.3y 30'4 96'8 1/2 1933 12.5y 29'2 1/2 31.98 1934 12.4y 108'9 1935 12.0 34.20 1936 11.7e 12.3y 8.76 35.94 1937 13.8y 31.47 1938 12.2 32.93 1939 12.6y 33.71 1940 1941 98 11 1/4 INTERNATIONAL HONOURS EMPIRE GAMES - 1938 80m Hurdles Javelin NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Hurdles 1930 1933 1935 1936 Javelin 1933 1935 1936 4x110y relay 1935 1936 The above biography is a basic profile.
As soon as I have time, the more detailed bio will replace this
page.
|
||||||
| An unofficial, non-profit, just-for-fun, page but © 1995-2002 by Graham Thomas | ||||||
