Rand, first British Olympic women's gold medallist, dies at age 86

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AdvertisementAdvertisement28 Mar 2026 03:47AM (Updated: 28 Mar 2026 03:48AM) Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInAdd CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.Read a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST March 27 : Former Olympic long jump champion Mary Rand, the first British woman to win three medals at a single Olympic Games, has died at the age of 86.Rand won gold in the long jump, silver in the pentathlon and bronze in the 4x100 metres relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics."Team GB is saddened to hear of the death of Olympic champion Mary Rand," UK Athletics said in a statement on Friday. "From a young age, Rand was a trailblazer."She was just 17 when she set her first British record in the pentathlon, making her major championship debut a few weeks later, when she won long jump silver at the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff."Rand set a long jump world record of 6.76 meters in Tokyo."Inspired by Rand's opening-day gold ... the squad went on to claim 12 medals in total," UK Athletics said. "If you talk to Ann Packer (Rand's roommate in Tokyo and Olympic champion in the 800m), she will say, 'Mary came back and she'd won a gold and it inspired everybody'."Source: ReutersNewsletterRecommended ReadSubscribe to CNA's Recommended ReadA single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day.Sign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST