Rona Tong
 Tong at the 1938 British Empire Games | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Rona Iris Tong | |||||||||||
| Born | 22 August 1916 Hastings, New Zealand | |||||||||||
| Died | 31 January 2016 (aged 99) Havelock North, New Zealand | |||||||||||
| Spouse |
Leslie James McCarthy
(m. 1939; died 1993) | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Country | New Zealand | |||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event(s) | Sprint, hurdles | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| National finals | 80 yards hurdles champion (1937) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
Rona Iris McCarthy MBE (née Tong, 22 August 1916 – 31 January 2016) was a New Zealand track and field athlete who won a bronze medal at the 1938 British Empire Games.
Early life and family[edit]
Born in Hastings on 22 August 1916, McCarthy was the daughter of funeral director Charles Oswald Tong and Florence Susannah Tong (née Jarden).[1] She was educated at Hastings High School and then worked in the dressmaking trade.[1] On 7 November 1939 she married Leslie James McCarthy at St Matthew's Church, Hastings, and the couple went on to have one daughter.[1]
Athletics[edit]
She won the New Zealand national 80 yards hurdles title in 1937,[2] and went on to represent her country in the same event at the British Empire Games in Sydney the following year.[3] She finished third in the final, 0.1 seconds behind the winner, Barbara Burke from South Africa.[1] Competing in the 100 yards sprint at the same games, McCarthy finished last in her heat and did not progress.[4]
Other sports[edit]
McCarthy represented Hawke's Bay in both netball and basketball and was selected to play for New Zealand.[5] However, planned internationals against Australia never took place.[5] She coached both netball and basketball for almost 40 years, and was made a life member of the Hastings Netball Umpires' Association in 1967.[1][5] She later took up lawn bowls, and served as president of the Kia Toa Bowling Club in Hastings.[1]
Honours[edit]
In the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, McCarthy was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to sport, especially netball.[6] She was inducted into the Hawke's Bay sporting legends hall of fame in 2007.[7]
Later life and death[edit]
McCarthy was widowed by the death of her husband in 1993.[1] She died in Havelock North on 31 January 2016,[1] and was buried at Hastings Cemetery.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Pre-war medallist made history". Hawke's Bay Today. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "Rona McCarthy". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "Several records fall". Evening Post. 7 February 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Singh, Anendra (16 October 2010). "Rona recalls obstacles to Games glory". Hawke's Bay Today. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "No. 47871". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 16 June 1979. p. 29.
- ^ "Hawke's Bay Sporting Legends Hall of Fame". Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ "Details for McCarthy, Rona Iris". Hastings District Council. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- 1916 births
- 2016 deaths
- Sportspeople from Hastings, New Zealand
- New Zealand female hurdlers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- New Zealand female sprinters
- New Zealand netball players
- New Zealand women's basketball players
- Burials at Hastings Cemetery, New Zealand
- People educated at Hastings Girls' High School
- New Zealand netball coaches
- Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games
- New Zealand Athletics Championships winners