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Chapter Six - Olympic Glory
In the 1950s, women's track events were still restricted to short sprints and hurdles
and these were the events in which Australia had traditional strength. Empire Games silver medallist Winsome Cripps and the unlucky Marlene Mathews were considered to be Olympic hopefuls in the sprints and hurdlers Norma Austin and Gwen Wallace. Jumpers Carole Bernoth and Erica Nixon were also expected to do well although Australia was not strong in other field events.
Young Western Australians Pam Bryant and Beris Folland were two athletes who improved Australian standards in the 400m and 800m events during the mid fifties. Bryant set a world
record for the 440y in 1954 and Folland swapped Australian records with Adelaide's Joy Brown (Burdett) and Victorian newcomer Brenda Jones. Many people could have been forgiven for thinking that Olympic hurdles champion Shirley Strickland had retired from the sport in 1955. After all, she was a thirty years old mother with a career and she had missed selection for the 1954 Empire Games in controversial circumstances. Strickland kept competing in Perth The 1956 National Championships were to be held in Brisbane in early April. Olympic trials would follow in Melbourne just prior to the Olympic Games which were to be held in late November. Conditions in the Nationals were awful. Torrential rain had soaked the grass track and the standard of officiating was poor on many occasions. The Championships were full of upsets and controversy in the highlighted sprint events.
After the Games, most athletes selected in the Olympic training squad continued their preparations in their home states. The Olympic trials resulted in some promising performances and shaped the final team selection. The team was to be the most successful Australian team with a record haul of gold medals.
In the Games, Marlene Matthews and Betty Cuthbert got Australia off to good starts with heat wins in Olympic record times. World record holder Shirley Strickland was surprisingly eliminated when she ran only third in her heat. Betty Cuthbert went on to win the final with Marlene Mathews winning the bronze medal after a poor start. The two Australians finished in the same placings in the 200m with Queenslander Norma Croker running well to take fourth place.
Norma Austin-Thrower, Gloria Cooke and Shirley Strickland all ran extremely well to make the final of the 80m Hurdles. In this event, Strickland
Australia finished these Games with four gold and three bronze medals. Michele Mason had done well to finish among the top High Jumpers, but most of the other field team could not make the finals of their events. Still Australia rejoiced in its' most successful Olympic medal haul.
Strickland set the record for the most Olympic medals won by a woman in track and field with her tally from 1948-56 consisting of three gold, one silver and three bronze medals for an official total of seven Cuthbert and Matthews had a fantastic sprint rivalry in the late fifties and regularly swapped victories in interclub events in Sydney, both running world class times and setting records in a range of events. With Shirley Strickland pregnant again, Norma Thrower and Gloria Cooke continued Australia's fine hurdling tradition with close competitions and fast times. In the High Jump, Australia achieved a good standard of depth for the first time with Michele Mason and Helen Frith clearing over 1.70m. Polish migrant Anna Pazera provided Australia with a top class javelin thrower in 1957 and went on to set a World Record in the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff, when she threw 57.40m. Her distance stood as an Australian and Commonwealth record for twelve years.
At the end of the decade, Australian women held World Records in nine sprint distances and depth was improving in a number of weaker events. Hopes were high for new successes at the 1960 Olympic Games to be held in Rome. The team was expected to centre around defending champion Betty Cuthbert, still just 21 years old, with Commonwealth Champions Marlene Matthews, Norma Thrower, Anna Pazera and Michele Mason also expected to star. There was also a chance the improving 800m runners Brenda Jones and Dixie Willis could qualify for the Games.
Australian Best Performances as at 1 January, 1960.
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