Betty Cuthbert

Betty Cuthbert

Betty Cuthbert c. 1950s
Personal information
Birth name	Elizabeth Cuthbert
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1938-04-20) 20 April 1938 (age 78) 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,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.

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.

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.