Dorothy Tyler

The medal winners in the 1936 high jump in Berlin from left to right: Ibolya Csák (gold), Elfriede Kaun (bronze), Dorothy Odam (silver)

Dorothy Jennifer Beatrice Tyler (born Dorothy Odam ; born March 14, 1920 in Stockwell ; † September 25, 2014 in the county of Suffolk ) was a British athlete who won high jump medals at major championships before and after World War II . In addition to two silver medals at the Olympic Games, she won twice at the Commonwealth Games and received a silver medal each at European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Career

In April 1936 Dorothy Odam set the world record of 1.65 meters, but this achievement was not officially recognized as a world record. At the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, three jumpers jumped the height of 1.60 meters: The Hungarian Ibolya Csák in the first attempt, Dorothy Odam in the second attempt and the German Elfriede Kaun in the third attempt. Since the rule of multiple attempts did not apply at that time, there was a jump-off in which Csak overcame 1.62 meters and Odam 1.60 meters. Since Kaun always tore, the same ranking resulted after the jump-off as according to the rule of multiple attempts that is common today. At the British Empire Games in Sydney in 1938 Odam won 1.60 meters ahead of her compatriot Dora Gardner , at the European Championships in 1938 Odam was not at the start. On May 29, 1939, Odam became the first woman to jump 1.66 meters and this time her world record was recognized.

It was not until 1948 that she took part again in a major championship, now as Dorothy Tyler: At the 1948 Olympic Games in her hometown of London, she jumped a new national record of 1.68 meters. Since the American Alice Coachman also overcame 1.68, Dorothy Tyler had to fight for gold again after twelve years and again she won the silver medal. In February 1950, the first Empire Games after the World War took place in Auckland . Tyler won for the second time after 1938; just like her second-placed compatriot Bertha Crowther , she crossed 1.60 meters. In August 1950 at the European Championships in Brussels , three jumpers jumped over 1.63 meters, according to the rule of multiple attempts that has now been introduced, her compatriot Sheila Alexander won ahead of Tyler and Galina Ganeker from the Soviet Union.

In the following years, Tyler achieved top placements. At the Olympic Games in 1952 , she finished seventh with 1.58 meters. In the summer of 1954, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games took place in Vancouver. Northern Irish Thelma Hopkins won with 1.68 meters, Tyler took silver for England with 1.60 meters. At the end of 1956 at the Olympic Games in Melbourne Dorothy Tyler was in her fourth Olympic final, with 1.60 meters she finished twelfth.

In 1935 Dorothy Odam jumped five feet for the first time, the last time she succeeded in 1966. In 1936 she was the youngest athlete to ever set a British record. She won eight national championship titles in the high jump from 1936 to 1956, in 1951 she also won the long jump and the pentathlon.

With a height of 1.68 m, her competition weight was 52 kg. In 2002 she was awarded the title MBE .

literature

• Peter Matthews, Ian Buchanan: All-Time Greats of British and Irish Sport . Enfield 1995 ISBN 0-85112-678-2
• Ekkehard zur Megede: The Modern Olympic Century 1896-1996 Track and Field Athletics . Berlin 1999, published by the German Society for Athletics Documentation eV

Web links

• Dorothy Tyler in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dorothy Tyler - obituary . In: The Daily Telegraph, October 4, 2014 (accessed October 5, 2014).
2. ↑ Dorothy Tyler: High jumper who met Hitler then wurde the first British woman to win Olympic medal in individual in athletics. In: The Independent of September 30, 2014 (accessed October 5, 2014).