Betty Cuthbert
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
 Betty Cuthbert c. 1950s |
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| Women's athletics | ||
Competitor for  Australia |
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| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1956 Melbourne | 100 metres |
| Gold | 1956 Melbourne | 200 metres |
| Gold | 1956 Melbourne | 4x100 m relay |
| Gold | 1964 Tokyo | 400 metres |
| Commonwealth Games | ||
| Gold | 1962 Perth | 4x110 yards relay |
| Silver | 1958 Cardiff | 220 yards |
| Silver | 1958 Cardiff | 4x110 yards relay |
Elizabeth ("Betty") Cuthbert AM, MBE (born 20 April 1938 in Merrylands,[1] New South Wales) is an Australian athlete, and a fourfold Olympic champion.
During her career, she achieved by setting world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres, 220 yards and 440 yards. Cuthbert also contributed to Australian relay teams completing a win in the 4x100 metres, 4x110 yards, 4x200 metres and 4x220 yards.
At the age of 18, with the 1956 Summer Olympics to be held in Melbourne, Cuthbert set a World Record in the 200 metres, making her one of the favorites for a gold in that event. Cuthbert first reached the finals of the 100 metres, setting an Olympic record of 11.4 seconds in her heat, while the Australian World Record holder Shirley Strickland de la Hunty was eliminated.
Cuthbert won the final and was then the big favourite for the 200 metres title. She lived up to the expectations, and became the Australian "Golden Girl". A third gold medal for Cuthbert came when she ran the final leg on in the 4 x 100 metres final, which the Australian team won in a new World Record.
During 1958 Cuthbert set world records for 100 and 220 yards but was beaten in both events by arch-rival and double-Olympic bronze medalist Marlene Mathews at the Australian Championships. Later in the year, at the Empire Games at Cardiff, Cuthbert could only place fourth in the 100y and second in the 220y, again behind Mathews.
She set a world record at 440 yards, which was broken in September 1959 by Maria Leontyavna Itkina of the Soviet Union.[2]
In the lead-up to the 1960 Summer Olympics, Cuthbert set a world 220 yards and 200 metres record of 23.2 seconds in winning the Australian championships. At the Rome Games, she suffered from injury and was eliminated from the heats of the 100 metres. Subsequently, she retired from the sport of track & field.
Her retirement did not last long, though, for she returned at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia, helping Australia to a gold medal in the sprint relay.
Afterwards, she concentrated on the 400 metres, and she competed in that event in the 1964 Summer Olympics, when it was on the Olympic program for women for the first time. Though not impressive in the heats, Cuthbert won the title for her fourth Olympic gold medal, beating out Ann Packer of Great Britain. She subsequently verified her retirement for good.
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[edit] Sydney 2000
Cuthbert was one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She carried the Olympic Torch at the stadium, as one of the runners for the final segment, before the lighting of the Olympic Flame by Cathy Freeman.
[edit] Personal details
Betty Cuthbert grew up in the Sydney suburb of Ermington, where she attended Ermington Public School.[3] As a teenager, she attended Macarthur Girls High School. The main street of Ermington shopping centre is called Betty Cuthbert Avenue in her honour.[4]
She has multiple sclerosis and now lives in Western Australia. In 2010, Betty Cuthbert had a rose named after her.[5]
[edit] Personal bests
Personal Bests - outdoor
| Event | Time | Wind | City | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Metres | 7.2 | Sydney | 27 February 60 | |
| 100 Yards | 10.4 | Sydney | 1 March 58 | |
| 100 Metres | 11.4 | Melbourne | 24 November 56 | |
| 200 Metres | 23.2 | Sydney | 16 September 56 | |
| 220 Yards | 23.2 | Hobart | 7 March 60 | |
| 400 Metres | 52.01 | Tokyo | 17 October 64 | |
| 440 Yards | 53.3 | Brisbane | 23 March 63 |
[edit] World records
Individual
| Event | Time | Wind | City | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Metres | 7.2 |
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Women's Archives Project
- ^ "Miss Cuthbert Loses Record". The Age. 15 September 1959. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xe00AAAAIBAJ&sjid=UbsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3303,2275936&dq=maria+itkina&hl=en. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ^ Anna (class 4S), Ermington Public School History, Ermington Public School Website (accessed 19 June 2006)
- ^ Gregory's Street Directory, 59th Edition 1995, Map 310 B2
- ^ http://www.treloarroses.com.au/products/product.asp?pID=5576&cID=8&c=73648
- Prentis, Malcolm. "Great Australian Presbyterians: The Game". Uniting Church in Australia. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061211164227/http://nsw.uca.org.au/presbyterian100/greataussies.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
- Athletics Gold profile
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