Muriel Amy Cornell (born Gunn; 27 September 1906 – 8 March 1996) was a British athlete and world record holder for the

long jump 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 ...

. Cornell was born in 1906 in

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

, then part of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, to Frederick William Gunn and Beatrice Minnie, née Loosemore. She married Stanley Herbert Cornell, a brush manufacturer, in August 1928. She became a founder member of the ladies' section of Mitcham Athletic Club in 1926 at the age of 19. At the British Games in London in August, she broke the long jump world record with a distance of 5.485 m. Later in August, she competed at the

1926 Women's World Games The 1926 Women's World Games (Swedish II. Internationella kvinnliga idrottsspelen, French 2èmes jeux féminins mondiaux ) were the second regular international Women's World Games, the tournament was held between 27

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

at which she placed second, recording 5.44 m, behind Japan's

Kinue Hitomi was a Japanese track and field athlete. She was the world record holder in several events in the 1920s – 1930s and was the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal. She was also the first woman to represent Japan at the Olympics. Biograph ...

. Cornell exceeded Hitomi's world record jump of 5.5 m, but she left a mark in the sand after she turned to speak to an official before leaving the pit. Cornell again became the world record holder in August 1927, jumping 5.575 m, which she held until Hitomi jumped 5.98 m in 1928. The long jump did not feature at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

, the first games with events for women, and Cornell didn't complete. At a match against Germany in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

in 1930, Cornell set a British record of 5.80 m (19 feet 2.5 inches), becoming the first 19 ft jump by a European. The British record stood for 23 years until 1952. The

1930 Women's World Games The 1930 Women's World Games (Czech and Slovak III Ženské Světové Hry v Praze, French 3è Jeux Féminins Mondiaux ) were the third regular international Women's World Games, the tournament was held between September 6 - September 8

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

saw Cornell place in second again to Hitomi. Cornell also competed in sprint and hurdle events, and at the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) championships she won the

100 m hurdles The 100 metres hurdles, or 100-meter hurdles, is a track and field event run mainly by women (the male counterpart is the 110 metres hurdles). For the race, ten hurdles of a height of are placed along a straight course of . The first hurdle is p ...

in 1927, the 100 yards in 1928, and the 80 m hurdles in 1930. In 1928 she broke the world record for the 80 metres hurdles in the semi-final but was beaten in the final itself. A snapped Achilles tendon in 1934 ended her career as an athlete, however she continued her involvement with the sport. She served as honorary secretary of the

Women's Amateur Athletic Association The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics (sport), athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletic ...

for 11 years, and was organising secretary for the

Women's World Games The Women's World Games were the first international women's sports events in track and field. The games were held four times between 1922 and 1934. They were established by Alice Milliat and the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSF ...

and women's events at the

Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

both staged in London in 1934. She also managed the women's team at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and helped to establish a national coaching scheme after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Cornell died of pneumonia on 8 March 1996 in

Redhill, Surrey Redhill () is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead within the county of Surrey, England. The town, which adjoins the town of Reigate to the west, is due south of Croydon in Greater London, and is part of the London commuter belt. The ...

. She was posthumously inducted into the

England Athletics Hall of Fame The England Athletics Hall of Fame was launched in 2008 with a panel of experts selecting a list of potential inductees for athletics fans and members of the public to vote on. The Hall of Fame honours those who have made an outstanding contributi ...

in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornell, Muriel 1906 births 1996 deaths People from Mitcham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Merton Athletes from London English female long jumpers English female sprinters British female long jumpers British female sprinters Women's World Games medalists World record setters in athletics (track and field)