Mary Peters in action at the Crystal Palace National Sports centre in London.
Mary is know in Britain as Dame Mary Peters ( "for services to
Sport and to the community in Northern Ireland".) see Honours below.
Two Golds at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.
Mary Peters' first major international championship as a
pentathlete was the 1962 European, in Belgrade, where she finished fifth
behind the defending champion Galina Bystrova of the Soviet Union. Two
years later she travelled to the Tokyo Olympic Games and performed with
distinction. Irina Press (Soviet Union), 5246 points, won from Britain's
Mary Rand (5035) and Bystrova (4956) with Peters in fourth place on
4797pts., in what was the first ever Olympic pentathlon (later to be
replaced by the heptathlon in 1984). Although known as a pentathlete
Mary was also an outstanding shot putter and set a British record of
16.31metres in 1966 - an event in which she would eventually win the
Commonwealth title in 1970. In 1968 she travelled to Mexico for the
Olympics but an ankle injury handicapped her and she slipped to ninth
place. She was now 31 years old and believed that Mexico was her last
chance for Olympic success. Perhaps that is why she took such pleasure
in her victory at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, though the
fact she was competing for her 'native' Northern Ireland also had a
bearing. Her total in the Scottish capital was 5148pts., which ranked
her sixth in the world that year. She won from England's Ann Wilson who
scored 5037pts. (the photo above shows Mary competing in the long
jump). She won the WAAA's shot putt that year for the second time
(1964) and the seventh of her WAAA's pentathlon championships. Mary even
won the WAAA's indoor 60m. hurdles title to underline her all round
abilities. (GH).
|
Olympic Pentathlon Gold at 1972 Games.
| If ever an athlete deserved an Olympic medal it was Great Britain &
N. Ireland's Mary Peters. For seventeen years she had been contesting
the event and the 1972 Munich Games would be her fourth attempt. At
thirty three years of age she knew it was now or never. The 1970
Commonwealth title had been a fillip and her conversion to the 'Fosbury
flop' during 1971 (a sabbatical year from the pentathlon) had radically
improved her chances of success in Germany. But all that really mattered
was could she perform at her very best throughout those two days and
trust that her rivals did not. In particular the Germans, Heide
Rosendahl (West) and world record holder Burglinda Pollak (East). From
the opening event she was inspired, a personal best 100m hurdles of
13.29 secs followed by a shot putt of 16.29m, just short of her British
record (16.31). The third event, the high jump, then confirmed she was
going to be the woman to beat. She 'flopped' over the bar with 1.82m for
another PB and was leading the event from Pollak by 97 points with a
day one 'world record' of 2969 points. Day two would be Rosendahl's.
Already the gold medallist in the long jump she leapt 6.83, just 1cm
short of her world record. Mary herself cleared 5.98m - 5cm below her
best to stay ahead. It would all come down to the 200m at which Heide
was much faster. The German won in 22.96 secs. But 1.04 seconds later
Mary crossed the line in 24.08 seconds, the fastest of her life and waited anxiously for the
calculations to be made. (Both had beaten the world record!) But Mary
was the winner. (GH) |
HONOURS.
In 1973 Mary Peters was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for services to athletics."
In the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Commander (CBE) "for services to Sport".
In the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Dame Commander (DBE) "for services to
Sport and to the community in Northern Ireland".
Northern Ireland's premier athletics track, on the outskirts of Belfast,is called the Mary Peters Track in her honour.
In April 2009 she was named the Lord Lieutenant of the City of Belfast.
Peters is a Freeman of the Cities of Lisburn and Belfast.
International Championships
1958: 8th shot, 12th high jump Commonwealth Games
1962: 4th shot Commonwealth Games; 5th pentathlon, 12th shot Europeans
1964: 4th pentathlon, 14 shot Olympics
1966: 2nd shot Commonwealth Games, 11th shot Europeans
1968: 9th pentathlon Olympics
1970: 8th shot, sf 60mh European Indoors; 1st shot and pentathlon, 5th 100mh Commonwealth Games; 6th shot European Cup
1972: 1st pentathlon Olympics; 13th shot, sf 60mh European Indoors
1973: 17th high jump European Indoors
1974: 1st pentathlon, 4th shot, 8th high jump, sf 100mh Commonwealth Games
UK Internationals: 43 (1961-73)