- Née:
- Shirley Strickland
- Born:
- July 18, 1925, Guildford, Western Australia
- Found dead:
- February 16, 2004, Perth (aged 78)
- Awards And Honors:
- Olympic Games
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty
-
Who was Shirley Strickland de la Hunty?
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty (1925–2004) was an Australian athlete who excelled in track events. Between 1948 and 1956, she won seven Olympic medals.
Strickland competed in the 1948 Olympic Games in London, winning a silver medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay and bronze medals in the 100-meter sprint and 80-meter hurdles. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, she won gold in the 80-meter hurdles and a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint. In 1956, she won two gold medals in the 80-meter hurdles and the 4 × 100-meter relay.
In 1957, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). She was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
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What sport did Shirley Strickland de la Hunty compete in?
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty was an Australian track and field athlete who dominated in the 1940s and 1950s. She competed in the Olympic Games in 1948, 1952, and 1956, winning seven medals. Strickland de la Hunty won medals in the 100-meter sprint, 80-meter hurdles, and 4 × 100-meter relay. In 1952, she was the first woman to run the 80-meter hurdles in under 11 seconds. She also set a world record in the 100-meter run in 1955 and won multiple gold and silver medals in the Commonwealth Games.
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What Olympic events did Shirley Strickland de la Hunty participate in?
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty participated in multiple events at the Olympic Games, securing seven medals between 1948 and 1956.
Strickland de la Hunty's Olympic achievements:
- 1948 London Games: She won a silver medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay and two bronze medals in the 100-meter sprint and 80-meter hurdles.
- 1952 Helsinki Games: She won gold in the 80-meter hurdles and a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint.
- 1956 Melbourne Games: She won two gold medals in the 80-meter hurdles and the 4 × 100-meter relay.
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How many Olympic medals did Shirley Strickland de la Hunty win?
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty, an Australian athlete, secured seven Olympic medals between 1948 and 1956. At the 1948 London Games, she won a silver in the 4 × 100-meter relay and two bronze medals in the 100-meter sprint and 80-meter hurdles. In 1952, at the Helsinki Games, she won a gold medal in the 80-meter hurdles and a bronze in the 100-meter sprint. Her success continued in 1956 at the Melbourne Games, where she won two gold medals in the 80-meter hurdles and the 4 × 100-meter relay.
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What records or achievements made Shirley Strickland de la Hunty famous?
Shirley Strickland de la Hunty was an Australian athlete celebrated for her achievements in track events, winning seven Olympic medals between 1948 and 1956. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, she won gold in the 80-meter hurdles, becoming the first woman to complete the event in under 11 seconds.
In 1955, she set a world record in the 100-meter run (11.3 sec). In 1956, she won two gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics in the 80-meter hurdles (10.7 sec) and the 4 × 100-meter relay.
Strickland de la Hunty was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and was made a Legend of Australian Sport ten years later. In 1998, her image appeared on a commemorative Australian postage stamp.
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How did Shirley Strickland de la Hunty contribute to sports in Australia after her athletic career?
After retiring from her athletic career, Shirley Strickland de la Hunty continued to contribute to sports in Australia. She helped manage the Australian women’s Olympic teams in 1968 and 1976. Strickland de la Hunty was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and was promoted to Legend of Australian Sport a decade later. In 2000, she was given the honor, along with other notable female Olympians from Australia, of carrying the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sydney.
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Shirley Strickland de la Hunty (born July 18, 1925, Guildford, Western Australia—found dead February 16, 2004, Perth) was an athlete from Australia who won seven Olympic medals between 1948 and 1956, in an era when Australian women dominated track events.
Strickland first competed at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, where she won a silver medal as a member of the Australian 4 × 100-meter-relay team that finished a tenth of a second behind the winner. She also earned bronze medals in the 100-meter sprint and 80-meter hurdles and was credited with a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter race. A photo-finish print of that event, published in 1976, revealed that she had in fact finished third and should have been awarded a bronze medal.
- Silver: 1 (4 × 100-meter relay)
- Bronze: 2 (100-meter sprint, 80-meter hurdles)
- Gold: 1 (80-meter hurdles)
- Bronze: 1 (100-meter sprint)
- Gold: 2 (4 × 100-meter relay, 80-meter hurdles)
In 1950 Strickland married geologist Laurence de la Hunty. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Strickland de la Hunty became the first woman to run the 80-meter hurdles in less than 11 seconds, winning a gold medal with a time of 10.9 sec; she also earned a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint. At the 1956 Games in Melbourne, she won gold medals in the 80-meter hurdles (10.7 sec) and the 4 × 100-meter relay. Her seven medals set a record for most medals won by a female competitor in Olympic athletics competition; Polish sprinter Irena Szewińska tied the mark in 1976. Strickland de la Hunty also set a world record in the 100-meter run (11.3 sec) in 1955 and won two gold and two silver medals in the Commonwealth Games and three Australian championships in the 440-yard run.
After she retired from competition, Strickland de la Hunty helped manage the Australian women’s Olympic teams in 1968 and 1976. Aside from her involvement with athletics, she was a lecturer in physics and mathematics at Perth Technical College. In 1957 she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In addition, she was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and promoted to the status of Legend of Australian Sport 10 years later.
Along with other notable female Olympians from Australia, Strickland de la Hunty was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001 and was inducted into the Western Australia Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011. Her image was featured on a commemorative Australian postage stamp in 1998.
On February 16, 2004, Strickland de la Hunty was found dead in her home. It was believed that she had died several days earlier, possibly on February 11. The coroner attributed her death to natural causes.