“Means More Than Anything..." Melbourne’s "Golden Girl” Shines Again

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30575, 19 October 1964, Page 16

“Means More Than Anything..." Melbourne’s "Golden Girl” Shines Again

(NX Press Association— Copyright) TOKYO, October 18. Miss Betty Cuthbert won Australia’s first athletics gold medal in Tokyo on Saturday in one of the greatest come-back stories in Australian sport. Miss Cuthbert, who at 18 was the “golden girl” of the Melbourne Olympics eight years ago when she won both the 100 and 200 metres sprints, on Saturday pushed herself through a gruelling 400 metres race for an exciting victoryThe blonde from Ermington, New South Wales, had retired from running when other girls took over her Australian sprint titles. But she could not stay away from sport.

Encouraged by friends and advisers, she decided to make a come-back as a quarter-miler. When the women’s 400 metres was included in the Olympic Games programme for the first time Miss Cuthbert had a new goal. “Her win is the reward for sacrifice to her sport,” said the assistant manager of the Australian Olympic team (Mrs J. Patching). “She was running for Australia, rather than for herself. Smartly Away Australia needed the victory after a disappointing start to the athletics campaign. And it was a great victory. Starting from the second lane with a fellow Australian. Miss Judy Amoore, on her immediate right, Miss Cuthbert went out of the blocks smartly. She had made up ground on Miss Amoore in the first 100 yards before the Victorian girl was really in her stride.

Together, the two Australians edged away from the field, with Miss Antonia 1 Munkacsi, of Hungary, and Britain’s Miss Anne Packer also making up ground. Miss Amoore led narrowly approaching the straight, but Miss Cuthbert then moved ahead by about four yards

from the field, Miss Packer, Miss Munkacsi, and the Russian girl, Miss Maria Itkina, striving to cut her lead. Facial Agony Miss Cuthbert strained every muscle to keep ahead of the fast-finishing British girl. Miss Packer made up two yards in the straight before Miss Cuthbert, in a last final burst, plunged through the tape. In the last desperate strides her face showed the agony of her complete exhaustion. Miss Packer could not keep her sprint to the finishing line and came in about four feet away, second and just in front of Miss Amoore. Fastest Time Miss Cuthbert’s time was 52sec—the fastest 400 metres she has ever run and l.lsec taster than the world record she held two years ago. The present world record of 51.9 sec is held by Shin Guem-Dan, of North Korea, who arrived in Tokyo to compete, but was under a ban because she ran in the G.A.N.E.F.O. Games. Like Brick Wall Miss Packer’s time was 52.25ec and Miss Amoore’s 53.45ec. Afterwards Miss Cuthbert said that she went all out from the start.

“I can’t believe it.” she gasped. “I was just hoping I would hold out but that last lap was like a brick wall—the wind was so strong.

“It was the hardest race o( them all. In Melbourne everything came so easily to me I was much younger and things came without my realising them. “But I really wanted this more than anything—and I really had to work for it in the last 18 months. “This one means more than anything. I didn't think about times or records I didn’t expect my time to be as good as it was. I just wanted this,” she said, as she kissed the gold medal for the photographers.