[2][3][4] Educated at King Edward Technical College in Dunedin,[2] she married William Eric Harold Peterson in 1952.

[2][6] Hardman began running as a student at Invercargill Primary School, and later won all of the sprint titles at King Edward Technical College.

[9] She was a member of the New Zealand trio, with Lesley Rowe and Dorothea Parker, that won the silver medal in the 440 yards relay with a time of 48.7 seconds.

[5] These include:[11][12][13][14] In 1989, Peterson won four gold medals at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

[5] At the 2002 World Masters Games in Melbourne, Peterson won the W70 triple jump gold medal with a distance of 7.32 metres.