Shirley Strickland

Shirley Strickland
AO MBE

Strickland at the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland
Personal information
Full name	Shirley Barbara Strickland de la Hunty
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1925-07-18)18 July 1925 Guildford, Western Australia
Died	11 February 2004(2004-02-11) (aged 78) Perth, Western Australia
Alma mater	University of Western Australia
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Weight	50.8 kg (112 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100–400 m, 80 m hurdles
Club	University, Applecross, Melville
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m – 11.3 (1955) 200 m – 24.1 (1955) 400 m – 56.6 (1956) 80 mH – 10.89 (1956)
Medal record Representing  Australia Olympic Games 1952 Helsinki 80-metre hurdles 1956 Melbourne 80-metre hurdles 1956 Melbourne 4×100 m relay 1948 London 4×100 m relay 1948 London 100 metres 1948 London 80-metre hurdles 1952 Helsinki 100 metres British Empire Games 1950 Auckland 80-metre hurdles 1950 Auckland 3×110/220 yd 1950 Auckland 4×110/220 yd 1950 Auckland 100 yards 1950 Auckland 220 yards

Shirley Barbara de la Hunty AO, MBE (née Strickland; 18 July 1925 – 11 February 2004), known as Shirley Strickland during her early career, was an Australian athlete. She won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports.

Strickland was the only daughter, the second of five children. She grew up on the family farm east of the wheatbelt town of Pithara, Western Australia.

Her father, Dave Strickland, while working at Menzies in the goldfields of Western Australia, was also an athlete. He was unable to compete in the 1900 Summer Olympics because he lacked the money for a trip to Paris. Instead, in 1900, he directed his efforts to the Stawell Gift 130-yard (120-m) foot-race, winning in 12 seconds off a handicap of 10 yards. His performance was considered to be as good as those of Stan Rowley, who won the Australian amateur sprint titles that season. (Rowley went on to win three bronze medals in the sprints at the 1900 Paris Olympics). Dave Strickland subsequently went on to play one senior game of Australian Rules football with Melbourne-based VFL team St Kilda in 1900 and six with WAFL club West Perth spread across the 1901 and 1909 seasons.

Her mother, Violet Edith Merry, was American-born with a British mining engineer father and a Norwegian mother.

Shirley Strickland's early education was by correspondence. From 1934 to 1937 she attended the newly established local East Pithara School, winning a scholarship to attend Northam High School, where, in 1939, she won 47 out of 49 events as a schoolgirl athlete. After high school she entered the University of Western Australia from where in 1946 she graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics. In her spare time she lectured mathematics and physics to returned servicemen at Perth Technical College, played wing in the university hockey team and gained a reputation as an extremely gifted sprinter and hurdler.