Thelma Elizabeth Hopkins (born 16 March 1936) is a
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
athlete, who competed in the high and the long jump.
On 5 May 1956 she broke the world record in high jump in Belfast with a jump of 1.74 metres, breaking the record of 1.73 metres set by
Aleksandra Chudina of the USSR on 22 May 1954. Her record was broken on 14 July 1956 in Bucharest by
Iolanda Balaș
Iolanda Balaș (, hu, Balázs Jolán, later ''Balázs-Sőtér Jolán''; 12 December 1936 – 11 March 2016) was a Romanian athlete, an Olympic champion and former world record holder in the high jump. She was the first Romanian woman to win an ...
of Romania.
Her achievement in breaking the world record is commemorated by a plaque in Cherryvale Playing Fields, South Belfast.
Hopkins was born in
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
. She competed for Great Britain in 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 ...
held 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 ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, in the high jump event, where she won the silver medal jointly with Maria Pisareva. In the
1954 Commonwealth Games she won a gold medal for Northern Ireland.
As well as athletics she excelled at hockey where she was a regular choice for the
Ireland women's national field hockey team
The Ireland women's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international women's field hockey competitions, including the Women's Hockey World Cup and the Wom ...
, playing at forward and winning 40 caps. She also represented Ireland as an international Squash player.
She was one of many signatories in a letter to ''The Times'' on 17 July 1958 opposing 'the policy of apartheid' in international sport and defending 'the principle of racial equality which is embodied in the Declaration of the Olympic Games'.
[Brown and Hogsbjerg, ''Apartheid is not a game'', 16]
References
* Brown, Geoff and Hogsbjerg, Christian. ''Apartheid is not a Game: Remembering the Stop the Seventy Tour campaign.'' London: Redwords, 2020. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Thelma
1936 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Kingston upon Hull
Female high jumpers from Northern Ireland
Olympic athletes of Great Britain
Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Northern Ireland
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
European Athletics Championships medalists
Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Ireland international women's field hockey players
Irish female field hockey players
Female field hockey players from Northern Ireland
Irish female squash players
Universiade bronze medalists for Great Britain
Medalists at the 1961 Summer Universiade