Betty Cuthbert

Betty Cuthbert

Betty Cuthbert c. 1950s
Personal information
Birth name	Elizabeth Cuthbert
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1938-04-20) 20 April 1938 Merrylands, New South Wales, Australia
Residence	Western Australia
Height	5 ft 6 1⁄2 in (169 cm)
Weight	126 lb (57 kg)
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 metres 200 metres 400 metres
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Australia Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne 100 metres 1956 Melbourne 200 metres 1956 Melbourne 4×100 m relay 1964 Tokyo 400 metres Commonwealth Games 1962 Perth 4×110 yards relay 1958 Cardiff 220 yards 1958 Cardiff 4×110 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 set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres, 220 yards and 440 yards. She went to Ermington Public School which inspired and supported her to go in to the olympics. Cuthbert also contributed to Australian relay teams completing a win in the 4 × 100 metres, 4 × 110 yards, 4 × 200 metres and 4 × 220 yards. Cuthbert had a distinctive running style, with a high knee lift and mouth wide open.^[2]

Athletic career

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 (also her personal best), 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 × 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.^[3]

In the lead-up to the 1960 Summer Olympics, in Rome, 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, in Tokyo, 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 is the only Olympian, male or female, to have won a gold medal in all sprint (running) events: 100 metres; 200 metres; and the 400 metres. She subsequently verified her retirement for good after Tokyo. Also in 1964 she received the Helms Award for her sporting contributions.^[4]

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. Sitting in a wheelchair and accompanied by Raelene Boyle, 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.^[5]

Personal details

Betty Cuthbert grew up in the Sydney suburb of Ermington, where she attended Ermington Public School.^[6] As a teenager, she attended Macarthur Girls High School. The main street of Ermington shopping centre is named Betty Cuthbert Avenue in her honour.^[7] Cuthbert has a twin sister, Marie.^[8]

She has multiple sclerosis and now lives in Western Australia. In 2010, Betty Cuthbert had a rose named after her.^[9]

Personal bests

Statue of Betty Cuthbert outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Personal Bests – outdoor

World records

Individual

Honours

Cuthbert was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.^[10] In 1992, the State Transit Authority named a RiverCat ferry after Cuthbert.

Cuthbert was one of the inaugural inductees of the IAAF Hall of Fame in 2012.^[11]

References

• Prentis, Malcolm. "Great Australian Presbyterians: The Game". Uniting Church in Australia. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-07. 
• "Athletics Gold profile". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 2010-10-08.  CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)

External links

• Betty Cuthbert (Australia): Hall of Fame Profile from International Association of Athletics Federations
• Betty Cuthbert at Olympic.org