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Profile - Maureen Caird
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Maureen Caird became the youngest ever Olympic champion in 1968 when she upset countrywoman Pam Kilborn in the 80m Hurdles. Her time of 10.39 seconds was a world record and still remains as the fastest time on record for this event. Though she won a silver medal in the 1970 Commonwealth Games and represented Australia in the 1972 Munich Olympics, she was not able to repeat her Mexico City form. She retired, at the age of twenty-one, in 1972. |
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Maureen Caird became known as a junior talent of note in Sydney during the mid sixties. She ran for the strong Cumberland club and was coached by June Fergusion who had assisted Betty Cuthbert to win four Olympic gold medals in the 1950s and 1960s. Caird had been viewed as a potential Olympic runner in the seventies. She was a decent all-rounder who won state and national junior pentathlon, long jump and sprint honours. Her best event was the sprint hurdles, but in interstate competitions she could never get the best of the Australian record-holder and World Number One, Pam Kilborn. During the 1966/67 season, Maureen's times began to improve and at the 1967 National Championships, she beat Pam Kilborn for the first time (in a heat) and ran a new Australian Junior record of 10.5. The time was ranked in the world's top five and Caird began to be considered seriously as an Olympic prospect. In the 1968 Australian titles in Adelaide, Caird competed in both junior and senior events. In her most important race, the senior 80m Hurdles, she led early before Pam Kilborn produced a strong finish to touch out the junior champion. Caird's time was a fast 10.6 and she equalled this performance in winning the junior title. She also competed in the new 100m Hurdles event in Adelaide and again took second place behind Pam Kilborn. Her heat time of 13.8 was a new Australian Junior record. Her hurdles times were fast enough to rank in the world top ten and it was obvious she had the consistency to repeat her times overseas. As a result, Maureen was selected as the youngest member of the Australian team for the Mexico Olympics. During the trying Mexico Games (altitude, pollution, heat, nerves and food poisoning affected many other competitors) Caird seemed relaxed and confident. She breezed through her heats, she and Pam Kilborn were fastest qualifiers. In the final, held in pouring rain, Caird and Kilborn ran from opposing ends of the track and found it hard to see each other. Caird ran a perfect race and breasted the line inches ahead of Kilborn. Caird's time of 10.39 was the fastest automatic time ever recorded for the event and Caird set another record becoming the youngest athlete to win an individual Olympic title in athletics. She returned to Sydney a celebrity. In 1969 Maureen returned to competition in Australia, looking to earn a berth in the Australian team to compete in the 1969 Pacific Conference Games. In the National Championships she renewed her rivalry with Pam Kilborn, whom she had not raced since the 1968 Olympic final. In the new 100m Hurdles event, Caird had a bad start and hit a hurdle. She could only finish fourth, but her wind-assisted time was her fastest time ever. The next day, she fought tooth and nail with Pam Kilborn to try and win the last ever 80m Hurdles national title, but Kilborn prevailed 10.5 to 10.6. In the 1970 Nationals, Maureen managed to beat her nemesis Pam Kilborn for the first time since 1968. It was a disputed photo-finish but Maureen was delighted and said 'Maybe now they'll believe that Mexico was no fluke'. Her victory earned her selecction in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. At the Games she won a silver medal behind Kilborn in the 100m Hurdles. She continued training for the 1972
Olympics in Munich and seemed to improve her speed, but she could not
make it past her heat in the Olympics and retired from international
athletics. She married a New Zealander and now resides across the
Tasman. More Details - COMING SOON!! |
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