The Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers or Kingston & Poly AC for short is an athletic club based in Kingston upon Thames in England.
History The club was founded by philanthropist Quintin Hogg in 1883, and they were known for four years as the Hanover United AC, and were the athletics arm of Quintin Hogg's Regent Street Polytechnic.Kingston Athletics Club & Polytechnic Harriers History of the club 03-07-2007 The Polytechnic Harriers were based at the Chiswick track and their history with racing events predated "the Poly" since they oversaw walking races from London to Brighton as far back as 1897.
The club has long ties to what is now the London Marathon. In 1908 they oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1908 Olympics, the Game's marathon, and played a large part in the development of the Polytechnic Marathon, which ran from 1909- 1996.
In 1920, Harry Edward became Great Britain's first Black medalist at the Olympic Games.
In 1985 The Polytechnic Harriers merged with The Royal Borough of Kingston AC, a women's club founded in 1982, to become the Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers (Kingston & Poly). The Royal Borough of Kingston AC had been formed when Surrey AC disbanded that year. The male athletes from Surrey AC joined Belgrave Harriers.
The Polytechnic's Kinnaird and Sward Trophies are no longer contested and join the Polytechnic Marathon,which has been superseded by the London Marathon.
Kingston & Poly's men now compete nationally in the British Athletics League and, at area level, the men and women operate jointly in the Southern Athletics League, although they were relegated to lesser divisions in 2016.
Olympic athletes
AthleteClubGamesMedals/RefHenry BarrettPolytechnic Harriers 1908, 1912 Jack ButlerPolytechnic Harriers 1908George NicolPolytechnic Harriers 1908, 1912 James BarrettPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Michael CollinsPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Charlie DaviesPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Oswald GroeningsPolytechnic Harriers 1908 George HawkinsPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Guy HoldawayPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Georg LindPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Henry MurrayPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Edward SpencerPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Jimmy TremeerPolytechnic Harriers 1908 Timothy CarrollPolytechnic Harriers 1912, 1920 Willie Applegarth Polytechnic Harriers 1912 James BarkerPolytechnic Harriers 1912 Victor d'Arcy Polytechnic Harriers 1912 Percy Mann Polytechnic Harriers 1912 Douglas McNicol Polytechnic Harriers 1912 Clive Taylor Polytechnic Harriers 1912 Arthur Treble Polytechnic Harriers 1912 Larry Cummins Polytechnic Harriers 1920 Harry Edward Polytechnic Harriers 1920 Albert Hill Polytechnic Harriers 1920 Eric Robertson Polytechnic Harriers 1920 Guy Brockington Polytechnic Harriers 1924 Fred GabyPolytechnic Harriers 1924, 1928 John OddePolytechnic Harriers 1924 Richard Ripley Polytechnic Harriers 1924 Frederick Chauncy Polytechnic Harriers 1928 Cyril Gill Polytechnic Harriers 1928 Jack London Polytechnic Harriers 1928 Arthur Muggridge Polytechnic Harriers 1928 Lorna Frampton Polytechnic Harriers 1936 Bert Norris Polytechnic Harriers 1936 Aubrey Reeve Polytechnic Harriers 1936 Stan West Polytechnic Harriers 1936 McDonald Bailey Polytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952 Paul Crosfield Polytechnic Harriers 1948 Charles Denroche Polytechnic Harriers 1948 Rene Howell Polytechnic Harriers 1948 Stan Jones Polytechnic Harriers 1948 Leslie LaingPolytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952 Ron Pavitt Polytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952 Martin Pike Polytechnic Harriers 1948 Polytechnic Harriers 1948 Arthur Wint Polytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952 Peter Hildreth Polytechnic Harriers 1952, 1956, 1960 Brian Shenton Polytechnic Harriers 1952, 1956 Jeannette Bailey Polytechnic Harriers 1960 Tim Graham Polytechnic Harriers 1964 Colin Campbell Polytechnic Harriers 1968, 1972, 1976 Alan Pascoe Polytechnic Harriers 1968, 1972, 1976
Archives The Club's archives are still held at the University of Westminster.
References