Athletic Career
At the age of 18, with the 1956 Summer Olympics to be held in Melbourne, Cuthbert set a World Record in the 200 metres, making her one of the favorites for a gold in that event. Cuthbert first reached the finals of the 100 metres, setting an Olympic record of 11.4 seconds in her heat, while the Australian World Record holder Shirley Strickland de la Hunty was eliminated.
Cuthbert won the final and was then the big favourite for the 200 metres title. She lived up to the expectations, and became the Australian "Golden Girl". A third gold medal for Cuthbert came when she ran the final leg on in the 4 x 100 metres final, which the Australian team won in a new World Record.
During 1958 Cuthbert set world records for 100 and 220 yards but was beaten in both events by arch-rival and double-Olympic bronze medalist Marlene Mathews at the Australian Championships. Later in the year, at the Empire Games at Cardiff, Cuthbert could only place fourth in the 100y and second in the 220y, again behind Mathews.
She set a world record at 440 yards, which was broken in September 1959 by Maria Leontyavna Itkina of the Soviet Union.
In the lead-up to the 1960 Summer Olympics, in Rome, Cuthbert set a world 220 yards and 200 metres record of 23.2 seconds in winning the Australian championships. At the Rome Games, she suffered from injury and was eliminated from the heats of the 100 metres. Subsequently, she retired from the sport of track & field.
Her retirement did not last long, though, for she returned at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia, helping Australia to a gold medal in the sprint relay.
Afterwards, she concentrated on the 400 metres, and she competed in that event in the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, when it was on the Olympic program for women for the first time. Though not impressive in the heats, Cuthbert won the title for her fourth Olympic gold medal, beating out Ann Packer of Great Britain. She is the only Olympian, male or female, to have won a gold medal in all sprint (running) events: 100 metres; 200 metres; and the 400 metres. She subsequently verified her retirement for good after Tokyo.
Read more about this topic: Betty Cuthbert
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