Mary Rand, the first British woman to win an Olympic track-and-field gold medal, dies at 86

By Canadian Press on March 27, 2026.

Mary Rand, the first British woman to win an Olympic track-and-field gold medal, has died. She was 86.

In a post on X, UK Athletics said Friday it was “saddened to hear of the death of Olympic, European and Commonwealth champion Mary Rand.”

Rand claimed the long jump title at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, breaking the British and Olympic records with her first attempt of 6.59 meters and going on to smash the-then world record with a leap of 6.76. She also won silver in the inaugural women’s pentathlon and bronze as a member of the 4×100 relay team in Japan.

“She became the first British woman to win three medals at a single Olympic Games at Tokyo 1964 and blazed a trail for women in the sport,” UK Athletics said.

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The Associated Press