Mary Rand, first British woman to win Olympic athletics gold, dies aged 86
Rand won gold, silver and bronze medals at Tokyo 1964
Mary Peters pays tribute to ‘most gifted athlete ever’
Mary Rand, the British track and field athlete who blazed a trail for women by winning three Olympic medals at the Tokyo Games in 1964, has died at the age of 86.
Rand was one of the giants of her sport: the epitome of speed, power and grace. Her long jump victory in Tokyo made her Britain’s first female Olympic gold medallist in athletics, and she followed it up with a silver in the pentathlon and a bronze in the 4x100m relay.
