Valerie Ailsa Dillimore (née Morgan, born 17 October 1943) is a former New Zealand athlete. A sprinter, she represented New Zealand as a 16-year-old at the

1960 Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. In the

100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

she clocked 12.61 s in her heat and progressed to the quarterfinals, where she ran 12.66 s and did not progress further. She ran her

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

heat in 25.39 s and was eliminated. In 1960 she was the New Zealand 100 yards and 220 yards champion, and the following year was the national

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 ...

champion with a leap of 5.79 m. Morgan was married to Anthony Errol (Tony) Dillimore, who died in April 2019. She is the mother of Robin Dillimore, who played

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

for New Zealand on 32 occasions, and of Carlene Dillimore who competed in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

. A former student of Waihi Central School, she officially opened the school's new hall in 2012.

References

1943 births Living people New Zealand female sprinters New Zealand female long jumpers Olympic athletes for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics {{NewZealand-athletics-bio-stub