Photo: Eric Koch for Anefo / CC BY-SA 3.0 nl (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Mary Rand is the kind of athlete who makes me sit up straight. Winning long jump gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with a world record, the first British woman ever to take athletics gold, would be a career on its own, but she also became the only British woman to win three medals at a single Games for sixty years. Add the MBE and BBC Sports Personality of the Year and you have a genuine national hero. What moves me is the era: a woman reaching the absolute summit on raw talent alone. She passed in 2026, but that mark in the Tokyo sand will never fade.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Mary Rand
- Name (Japanese)
- マリー・ランド
- Reading
- まりー・らんど
- Born
- February 10, 1940 (age 86)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Dragon
- Origin
- Wells, United Kingdom
- Height
- 2 cm
- Occupation
- athletics competitor
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 1965 Member of the Order of the British Empire
- 1964 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Mary Rand born?
Born February 10, 1940 (age 86).
Where is Mary Rand from?
Mary Rand is from Wells, United Kingdom.
What does Mary Rand do?
Mary Rand works as athletics competitor.
How tall is Mary Rand?
Mary Rand is 2 cm.
Athletics competitor — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.