Dorothy Tyler-Odam

Dorothy Jennifer Beatrice Tyler, MBE (née Odam; 14 March 1920 – 25 September 2014) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the high jump. She was born in Stockwell, London.[1]

Dorothy Tyler-Odam
MBE
Ibolya Csák, Elfriede Kaun and Dorothy Odam
at the 1936 Olympics.
Personal information
Birth nameDorothy Jennifer Beatrice Odam
NationalityBritish
Born(1920-03-14)March 14, 1920
Stockwell, London, England
Died25 September 2014(2014-09-25) (aged 94)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place1936 BerlinHigh jump
Silver medal – second place1948 LondonHigh jump
European Championships
Silver medal – second place1950 BrusselsHigh jump
Representing  England
British Empire Games
Gold medal – first place1938 SydneyHigh jump
Gold medal – first place1950 AucklandHigh jump
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place1954 VancouverHigh jump

Odam competed for Great Britain in the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany where she won the silver medal behind Ibolya Csák. She jumped the highest and was the first to clear 1.60 meters, and would have won under modern countback rules, but under the 1936 rulebook a jump-off was called for, and Csák won the gold.[2]

In 1939 she broke the world record in the high jump with 1.66m, but Germany's Dora Ratjen allegedly broke her record quickly.[2] Odam was suspicious of Ratjen and, according to Odam, "They wrote to me telling me I didn't hold the record, so I wrote to them saying, 'She's not a woman, she's a man'. They did some research and found 'her' serving as a waiter called Hermann Ratjen. So I got my world record back."[2][3] Odam's world record was formally recognized by the sport's world governing body, the IAAF, in 1957.[2]

She won the silver medal again in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, making her the only woman to win Olympic athletics medals before and after the war.[4] Her 1936 win also made her the first British woman to win an individual Olympic medal in athletics.[2]

Odam was also twice a gold medallist at the British Empire Games, winning at Sydney in 1938 and Auckland in 1950. In Sydney she was the only Englishwoman to win athletics gold, setting a Games record of 5 ft 3 in, which is the same as 1.60 meters.[2]

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2002 New Year Honours for services to athletics.[5]

In 2012, she was the official starter for the London Marathon.

She died on 25 September 2014 aged 94 following a long illness.[6]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dorothy Odam-Tyler". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  2. Steven Downes. "Dorothy Tyler: High jumper who met Hitler then became the first British woman to win an individual Olympic medal in athletics | News". The Independent. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. Ratjen had retired from competing in 1938, though, and her titles and records had been pulled. Hamburger Nachrichten, Oct 1, 1938, p. 11 (one of several sources).
  4. Thordardottir, Ingibjorg (26 August 2008). "UK | Keep it simple say 1948 Olympians". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  5. "2002 New Year Honours". The London Gazette. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  6. "Dorothy Tyler dies aged 94". Athleticsweekly.com. 26 September 2014.


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