Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE (b. 1931), former sprinter, was Governor of South Australia from 2001 to 2007. The 'Lithgow Flash' won Olympic gold medals in the 100m and 200m at Helsinki in 1952, becoming the first Australian woman to win an Olympic gold medal for track and field and the first Australian to win an Olympic gold medal on the running track since 1896. Between 1950 and 1954 she won every state and Australian title for the 100 yards and 220 yards. She broke world sprint records ten times and garnered seven Commonwealth Games gold medals. Sportsman of the Year in 1952, in 1953 she was awarded an MBE for her services to athletics. Since the death from leukaemia in 1977 of her husband Peter Nelson, former Olympic cyclist, she has been dedicated to securing funds to sponsor research into the disease, raising over $7 million for facilities in Adelaide through the Peter Nelson Leukaemia Fellowship Research Fund.
Avril Thomas painted Jackson-Nelson in a number of sittings at Government House in Adelaide. This is a preparatory charcoal sketch of the portrait, which incorporates objects referring to Jackson-Nelson's position as Governor and her Olympic career, such as her kangaroo-skin running spikes and a maquette of her life-sized statue in her home town of Lithgow.
Commissioned 2006
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