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 Aleksandra Georgievna Chudina (russian: Александра Георгиевна Чудина; 6 November 1923 – 28 October 1990) was a Soviet athlete who excelled in field hockey, volleyball, and various track and field events. Field hock ...

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- ...

. 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, w ...

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 metro ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, 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