Jessie Mary Hayward (née Donaghy, born 7 December 1939) is a former New Zealand high jumper and

long jumper The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. She represented her country at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

and

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

, winning a silver medal in the high jump at the latter event.

Early life and family

Hayward was born Jessie Mary Donaghy in

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

on 7 December 1939, the daughter of Nona Jessie Donaghy (née Baverstock) and James Stanly Donaghy. She grew up on her parents' farm at Waitakaruru, near

Ngatea Ngatea ( mi, Ngātea) is a small town on the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 18 kilometres southwest of Thames and 70 kilometres southeast of Auckland. Ngatea lies on the Piako River, eight kilometres south of it ...

. After leaving school she worked in Ngatea for a motor company, before moving to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1960 where she worked for a bank. In 1963, she married a dairy and poultry farmer, John Clive Hayward, and they lived on their farm at Netherton, near

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kilo ...

Athletics

Donaghy took up high jumping at the age of 14, when she entered a competition in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

"just for fun", and cleared a height of . At an athletics meet in

Te Aroha Te Aroha ( mi, Te Aroha-a-uta) is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is northeast of Hamilton and south of Thames. It sits at the f ...

in January 1955, Donaghy jumped at an event won by the national champion,

Noelene Swinton Noelene Rae Horne (née Swinton; born 1933) is a former New Zealand high jumper. At the 1950 British Empire Games she won the bronze medal in the women's high jump. At the following 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games she placed 5th in t ...

, who suggested that Hayward should seek coaching from Frank Sharpley. For the next four years, Hayward had weekly training sessions with Sharpley at the

Papakura Military Camp Papakura Military Camp is a New Zealand Army military camp located in the Auckland suburb of Papakura North, in northern New Zealand. It is the home of the New Zealand Special Air Service. Geography The camp was established on the outskirts of ...

, where Sharpley was a physical trainer. After just one session with Sharpley, Hayward leapt at the Thames Valley children's championships in February 1955, breaking the New Zealand women's high jump record. She went on to win the New Zealand national high jump title six times, winning every year from 1955 to 1961 except 1960. She recorded her personal best of in winning the 1961 championship. Donaghy also competed in the long jump, winning the national title in 1959 with a distance of . At 16 years old, Donaghy competed in the high jump at the 1956 Summer Olympics in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Her best height of 1.67 m was the same as that of the silver medallists, but she finished in seventh place on a countback. At the

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Donaghy cleared a height of , the same as the winner, Michele Brown of Australia, but was awarded the silver medal on a countback. Donaghy also competed in the long jump, placing fifth with a distance of , and was part of the New Zealand women's 4 x 110 yard relay team (with

Beverly Weigel Beverly Dawn Edith Weigel (born 16 August 1940), with her first name commonly misspelled as Beverley and since her marriage known as Beverly Robertson, is a New Zealand athlete. Mainly active as a long jumper, but also as a sprinter, she represen ...

, Margaret Stuart and

Marise Chamberlain Marise Ann Millicent Chamberlain (born 5 December 1935) is a New Zealand former middle-distance runner. She is the only New Zealand woman to win an Olympic medal in track athletics ( Lorraine Moller won a medal in the marathon). She set world ...

) that finished fourth in the final. Donaghy retired from athletics competition after the 1961 New Zealand national championships. She was the first woman to jump over her own height; she was . Following her retirement and marriage, Hayward coached at the Paeroa Amateur Athletics Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaghy, Mary 1939 births Living people Sportspeople from Thames, New Zealand New Zealand female high jumpers New Zealand female long jumpers New Zealand female sprinters Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Olympic athletes of New Zealand