Maureen Angela Jane Dyson (née Gardner, 12 November 1928 – 2 September 1974) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 80 metres

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. She won silver medals at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

and

1950 European Athletics Championships The 4th European Athletics Championships were held from 23 August to 27 August 1950 in the Heysel Stadium of the Belgian capital Brussels. Contemporaneous reports on the event were given in the Glasgow Herald. Men's results Complete results ...

, both times losing to

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen (26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earn ...

. She was coached by Geoff Dyson, whom she married one month after the 1948 Olympics. Maureen Gardner grew up in the Florence Park area of

Temple Cowley Cowley () is a residential and industrial area in Oxford, England. Cowley's neighbours are Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys to the south, Headington to the north and the villages of Horspath and Garsington across fields to the east. Internationally ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and went to Donnington Junior School,

Florence Park, Oxford Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. Her former home at 17 Maidcroft Road now has a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

in her honour.

Running

Gardner competed in flat running at the

1946 European Athletics Championships The 3rd European Athletics Championships were held from 22 August to 25 August 1946 in the Bislett Stadion in Oslo, Norway. For the first time it was a combined event for men and women, and for the first time a city in Scandinavia hosted the champ ...

and finished fourth in the 4×100 m relay (with

Sylvia Cheeseman Sylvia Cheeseman (born 19 May 1929) is an English retired sprinter. Competing in relays, she won two medals at the 1950 British Empire Games and one at the 1952 Olympics. Individually she was eliminated in the 200 m at the 1948 Olympics and in th ...

Winifred Jordan Winifred Sadie Jeffrey, later Jordan (15 March 1920 – 13 April 2019), was an English athlete who competed at the 1938 British Empire Games, 1946 European Athletics Championships, and 1948 Summer Olympics. She was born in Kings Norton ...

and Joyce Judd) and fifth in the 100 m sprint. At the

she came second in the 80 metre hurdles to

, both of them recording the same time of 11.2 seconds. She also helped

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

place fourth in the 4×100 m relay. Two years later she again lost the 80 metre hurdles to Blankers-Koen at the

. Gardner was four time AAAs National Champion in the 80 metres hurdles (1947, 1948, 1950, 1951).

Ballet schools

She started a ballet and dance school in Oxford. On moving to London she started a new school in

Wanstead Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...

, and both of them continued for a number of years until, in 1962, the Dyson family moved to live in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, Canada. She founded another school in that city. Maureen's involvement with ballet when she returned to England from 1968 onwards, was mainly as an examiner for the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

. Two years before she died of cancer she was made the Chief Examiner of that organisation.

Family

Gardner married Geoff Dyson at

St Mary Magdalen's Church, Oxford St Mary Magdalen is a Church of England parish church in Magdalen Street, Oxford, England, dedicated to Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. It is one of the city's ancient parish churches and is a Grade I listed building. Worship Worship at St Mar ...

, and they had two children. Her son was born in 1949, and after his birth she started training again with the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

as her goal; but when she became pregnant again, she decided to retire from her athletics career. She died from cancer on 2 September 1974, aged 45.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Maureen 1928 births 1974 deaths Sportspeople from Oxford British female hurdlers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)