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Profile - Decima Norman - Part II
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Decima Norman had trained for seven years alone in Western Australia to try and make her mark on the world athletics scene. She surprised many athletics officials and experts by winning the 100y and 220y at the 1937 National Championships. This terrific effort (in her first interstate athletics competition) earned her the right to represent Australia at the 1938 Empire (Commonwealth) Games being held in Sydney. In Sydney, she was chosen to represent Australia in six events; the 100y and 220y sprints, the High and Long Jumps and both sprint relays. |
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Once in Sydney, the trio of West Australians met with Queensland champion Thelma Peake, who was to train with them in the lead-up to the Games. All four were dismayed to find that no training facilities had been organised for women competitors. Thankfully, Preston arranged for the trio to practice at Rushcutter’s Oval, although flooding of the ground prevented them from taking full advantage of the training track. In addition to this upset, there were no change or massage facilities in the Sydney Cricket Ground and the group had to procure a spare room in the basement of an old building across the road. Decima also felt that petty bickering amongst officials at the Games was ‘by no means encouraging’ and ‘endangered the renowned hospitality of the Australian public’ by displaying such behaviour before visitors from overseas. Decima came prepared for difficulties in Sydney though; travelling with her was her lucky toy, a black swan called Wahoo. Wahoo not only brought Decima some good luck in Sydney, but was also loaned to WA swimmer Evelyn De Lacy who became the Golden Girl of the swimming pool. Decima was also delighted with her bib number of 9, as that was her lucky number. Both Decima and Frank Preston took every opportunity to study the training styles and methods of the overseas delegations but said, “to a degree we were disappointed, and regarded our own methods, if anything, a little more advanced”. Indeed, after observing the women from overseas, Frank Preston became very optimistic about Decima’s chances in the sprints and long jump, even though she was rarely mentioned in medal predictions appearing in the press. By the time of the Games, the women considered themselves in top shape and, although excitedly awaiting the start of their event, were thrilled to watch the Opening Ceremony which Decima said she would never forget. She commented later, “The weather as in its very best mood, the sun shone brilliantly and the colours of the different nations completed an unforgettable picture”. In the first competition, the 100y, Decima Norman won her heat (11.1), semi-final (11.1) and then the final in the same time of 11.1. This fine series of runs won her the very first Australian gold medal of the Games and was a hugely popular victory. Her time was just 1/10 from the world record and to run the time three times in one day showed strength as well as speed. Decima next ran the final (110y) leg on the victorious Australian 660y medley relay team to take her second gold medal. The 220y was the race that Decima and Frank Preston had primarily been aiming for at these Games and they were looking for a fast time. They got them in the heat (24.9) and semi-final (24.5) where Decima smashed her personal best time by over a second and took the Australian and Empire records at the same time. Her relaxed 24.5 to win her semi-final was particularly impressive, just 1/10 of a second outside the record of Stella Walsh. Before the final of the 220y, Decima had to compete in her fourth event, the Broad Jump. Although she had hardly competed in the this event during the season, Frank Preston was confident that Decima could at least gain a medal and his confidence gave her some heart. She still seemed to have lacked some confidence though, when the distance for her first jump was announced (5.60m/18' 4 3/8) she thought officials had made a mistake and would correct this later in the competition. Her fourth attempt equalled Thelma Peake’s Australian record and her final attempt put the icing on the cake when she smashed the Empire record with her best ever jump. Though she had never jumped over 18 feet (5.49m) in competition before, nearly all her jumps in Sydney were beyond this mark and beyond her previous competition best of 17' 11 (5.46m). Her great series was , with an amazing series of 18' 4 3/8 (5.60m), 17' 8½ (5.40m), 18' 5½ (5.63m), 18' 7 (5.66m), 18' 4 1/8 (5.59m) and 19' 0 ¼ (5.80m). On the next day of competition, Decima was due to run in the 220y final. After her excellent preliminary races, Norman and Preston set their sites on the 220y world record for the final to really make a mark internationally. Unfortunately Decima woke in the morning with a head cold which required medical attention. Not at her best later in the day, she could not improve her 220y time, but was still too good for the field, leading an Australian clean sweep of the medals with her 24.7 time for victory. It was unfortunate for Decima that the world sprint record-holder Stella Walsh (Stanislawa Walaciewicz) was, much later, discovered to be a man. The fact that Walsh was able to set records as a woman during the 1930s meant that Decima in the 220y, and others in a range of other events, would not be granted world records they were entitled to. Fifty years later, Decima’s 220y time of 24.5 was considered the ‘retrospective’ world best but, at the time, Decima’s time was never even ratified as an Australian record; there were some comments that some of the paperwork had not been completed, while others assumed that the track must have been short or that there was some other irregularity. With the second world war approaching, matters like these must have seemed trivial in comparison with more serious world developments. After the 220y win, Decima ran the first (220y) leg on the winning Australian 660y relay team and this gave her a record five gold medals in track and field, which has never been beaten. She was, by far, the biggest star of the Games – a first for a woman – and gave the Australian crowds something to cheer about on the track, with Australian men finding gold medals difficult to win. At the end of the Games, Canadian officials invited her to tour their country in 1939 to engage in a series of competitions with Canada’s best women. Decima declined as she had been in training from July 1937 to February 1938 and was starting to feel the strain. She did have her arm twisted to compete in a night meeting at Olympic Park in Melbourne just after the Games, but soon returned to Perth for a break over Christmas, before setting herself for future successes. In Perth, she had worked as a senior clerk in a Perth wholesale electrical store. On her return from Sydney though, she was feted as a champion and immediately offered a column in the local press and a weekly spot on the radio. She was invited to many sporting championships and civic affairs and her photograph was regularly featured in the press. Many people thought she had achieved the best ever publicity for Western Australia and they were already looking forward to her future successes. She was also given lots of advice, in person or in the media, on her preparation for these expected successes. For example, Austin Robertson, the well known sprint coach, went into print, advising her to forget about hurdling and jumping in order to concentrate on sprint events. Decima did realise she would need to make some changes if she hoped to compete in the Olympic Games’ her fondest dream. A move to the Eastern States was seen as a necessity if she was serious about challenging for honours in 1940. Perth did not have the opposition, or more particularly the facilities, that a prospective champion would need to make a mark on the world scene. In response to the announcement that the 1940 Olympics would feature additional women’s events in the 200m and Long Jump, Decima said, “Yes, I am delighted that such additions have been made – if I can assume at this stage that I may be chosen for Olympic honours. After all, you know, it’s a long way to 1940 when the battles take place in Finland, and firstly, I have to maintain my form, while secondly I have to win my way into the Australian team.” So, in early 1939, Decima moved to Sydney to win her way into the Australian team. Ironically, in her last race in WA, her unbeaten streak came to an end. Not having her best race over 90y Hurdles, she went down to sixteen year old Shirley Curtin in an interclub competition. After Norman left WA, Curtin proved this win was no fluke by breaking Norman’s state records for the hurdles. In Sydney during February 1939, Decima competed by invitation in sprints, hurdles and jumping events. She was surprisingly beaten by Joyce Walker in the NSW State Championships over 100 and 220y over the next month, but won the 90y Hurdles in a national record of 12.1 and also took the Long Jump, just fouling a huge record leap of 19’ 5 ½ (5.93m). She also showed top form on a tour of New Zealand where she was only defeated once in ten starts and recorded a world record of 11.0 for 100y in Morrinsville. Despite this world record, Decima seemed to be losing confidence in her speed over flat distances; she advised that she would be concentrating on hurdles and long jumping for her Olympic campaign, although of course she would run in any Australian relay team that might be selected. It was proposed that Olympic medallist Jack Metcalfe would coach Decima as soon as his studies were completed. Throughout the 1939/40 season, Decima’s times in the hurdles began to reduce significantly and her long jumping approached her best results. It might have been unfortunate for Decima that her chosen hurdles and jump events actually clashed on Day Five of the Helsinki Olympic programme, but it was now becoming clear to all that, with developments in Europe and around the world, the 1940 Games would not be going ahead in any case. Though this must have been disheartening, Decima prepared herself for one more major competition; the 1940 National Championships, to be held in her home town of Perth for the first time. Leading up to the nationals she won NSW State titles in the Long Jump and 90y Hurdles, equalling her national record time in the latter event, and anchoring her South Sydney relay team to victory. At the Perth championships, she was welcomed back to Perth in fine style and she was given the honour of reading the oath of amateurism in the opening ceremony. In the events of that weekend in March, Decima won the Long Jump and set an Australian record in the 90y Hurdles before assisting the NSW team to a win in the relay, also setting an Australian record. Though she was competing in Perth as a member of the NSW team, she had left a great mark on Western Australian athletics. The formation of the Western Australian clubs and association was primarily due to her and top quality athletes such as Joan Woodland, Merle Stoltze, Joy Barnett and Rae Bercone were training partners or hockey team-mates of hers who went on to achieve athletics honours of their own. Her Empire Games successes inspired other great Western Australian champions from Betty Judge and Margaret Orr (Troode) through to post-war champions such as Shirley Strickland and Verna Johnson. After these 1940 championships, there is no further record of Decima Norman competing in athletics. She remained living in Sydney and became Mrs. Hamilton when she married the former New Zealand Rugby Union footballer Eric Hamilton. They later retired to Albany, Western Australia. Decima Norman-Hamilton died on 29 August 1983; still the most successful woman athlete to compete in a Commonwealth Games and one of the most important Australian athletes of all time. PROGRESS 1932 1933 1934/5 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 100y 12.2 11.4 11.4 11.1 11.0 11.6 220y 28.4 27.4 26.2e 25.9 24.5 25.6 26.4 90y Hurdles 13.6 13.6 13.0 12.1 12.0 LJ 5.19 5.46 5.80 5.54 5.71 HJ 1.49 1.43 1.40 PERSONAL BESTS 50y 5.6 1 New Zealand Mar 39 6.0 1 Perth 13 Nov 37 75y 8.8 1 Perth 05 Dec 36 100y 11.0 2 Sydney 04 Feb 39 100m 12.4 1hcp Perth 08 Apr 36 220y 24.5 1 Sydney 10 Feb 38 25.6 1 Auckland 15 Mar 39 440y 63.6 1 Perth 03 Dec 38 90y H 12.0 1 Perth 11 Mar 40 100y H 14.0 1 Perth 19 Dec 36 HJ 1.49m 1 Perth 06 Mar 37 (4’ 10 ¾) LJ 5.80m 1 Sydney 07 Feb 38 (19’ 0 ¼) INTERNATIONAL HONOURS EMPIRE GAMES 1938 GOLD 100y 11.1 1938 GOLD 220y 24.7 (24.5 in SF) 1938 GOLD Long Jump 5.80 1938 GOLD 440y Relay 49.1 1938 GOLD 660y Relay 1-15.2 WORLD RECORDS 1940 100y 11.0 Morrinsville, New Zealand NATIONAL HONOURS AUST CHAMPS 1937 GOLD 100y 11.4 1937 GOLD 220y 25.9 1937 GOLD 4x110y Relay 50.0 1940 GOLD 90y Hurdles 12.0 1940 GOLD Long Jump 5.71m (18’ 8 ¾) 1940 GOLD 4x110y Relay 49.1 |
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