Rona Tong

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Rona McCarthy
MBE
Rona Tong 1938b.jpg
Tong at the 1938 British Empire Games
Personal information
Birth nameRona Iris Tong
Born(1916-08-22)22 August 1916
Hastings, New Zealand
Died31 January 2016(2016-01-31) (aged 99)
Havelock North, New Zealand
Spouse(s)
Leslie James McCarthy
​
​
(m. 1939; died 1993)​
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
SportAthletics
Event(s)Sprint, hurdles
Achievements and titles
National finals80 yards hurdles champion (1937)
Medal record
Representing  New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1938 Sydney 80 yd Hurdles

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[]

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[]

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[]

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[]

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[]

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[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Pre-war medallist made history". Hawke's Bay Today. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  2. ^ Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Rona McCarthy". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Several records fall". Evening Post. 7 February 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Singh, Anendra (16 October 2010). "Rona recalls obstacles to Games glory". Hawke's Bay Today. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  6. ^ "No. 47871". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 16 June 1979. p. 29.
  7. ^ "Hawke's Bay Sporting Legends Hall of Fame". Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Details for McCarthy, Rona Iris". Hastings District Council. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
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