1956 Olympic excessive leap silver medallist Thelma Hopkins, who gained Empire Video games gold for Northern Eire and in addition held the world report, has died on the age of 88.
Hopkins lived in Canada for a few years and he or she handed away in Edmonton on 10 January.
The excessive jumper, who was born in Kingston Upon Hull in 1936 earlier than transferring to Northern Eire, earned her first Northern Eire senior titles as a 15-year-old in 1951 when gained each the excessive leap and lengthy leap.
Three years later, she clinched excessive leap gold and lengthy leap silver when representing Northern Eire on the then Empire Video games in Vancouver.
Later in the identical summer time, Hopkins gained the excessive leap title for Nice Britain on the European Championships in Bern.
Hopkins broke the excessive leap world report on 5 Could 1956 when leaping 1.74m on the Cherryvale Taking part in Fields in Belfast and 6 months later, the then 20-year-old athlete took Olympic Video games silver in Melbourne as a part of the Nice Britain group.
A real sporting all-rounder, Hopkins performed worldwide hockey for Eire, incomes 40 caps, along with representing the nation in squash.
Her Eire hockey team-mates included Maeve Kyle, who additionally went on to have a massively profitable athletics profession.
The then 70-year-old athlete returned to the Cherryvale Taking part in Fields in 2006 for the revealing of a plaque commemorating her world report achievement.
Hopkins’ Northern Eire lengthy leap report of 6.11m set in 1956 was solely lastly bettered in 2013.
