Dorothy Gladys Manley (later Hall, then Parlett; 29 April 1927 – 31 October 2021) was a British sprinter. She competed in 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 ...

, held in London, in the 100 metres where she won the silver medal with a time of 12.2 seconds. She was the first British woman to win an Olympic sprint medal. She was also a medallist in the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

, and the

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 result ...

Early life

Manley was born in Manor Park, London, on 29 April 1927. She was initially introduced into athletics by one of her school teachers and worked her way up from the school, to the district and then to running for her county before the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. Contrary to reports, she was not evacuated during the war. In 1942 she competed in an athletics meeting at Ashton playing fields where she ran in the 200 metres for the first time.

Athletic career

She raced for the Essex Ladies athletics club. Manley was added to a national list of potential Olympians in late 1947, and assigned to train with Sandy Duncan. She began her training for the

early in March 1948, training on the track four times a week, but never using the gym. Manley described the trials as a "fiasco", having finished fifth at 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 in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...

Championships, but was still picked to represent the United Kingdom. She was working full-time during 1948 for the

Suez Canal Company Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same b ...

as a typist, and used her summer holidays to attend the games although the leave was unpaid by her employer. She was originally accepted for the Olympics as a high jumper, but her coach told her she wouldn't make the grade and trained her to be a sprinter in just five months. Her mother made her running vest and shorts for the Games, but she was given the blazer and skirt for the opening ceremony. While at the Games, she travelled to and from Wembley on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

, as she was sharing a room with two other athletes near Eccleston Square in central London. She qualified for the women's 100 metres final, and finished in second place, winning the silver medal in her first international athletics event. Fanny Blankers-Koen won the gold medal in first place with a time of 11.9, while Manley's time was 12.2, just ahead of

Shirley Strickland de la Hunty Shirley Barbara de la Hunty AO, MBE (née Strickland; 18 July 1925 – 11 February 2004), known as Shirley Strickland during her early career, was an Australian athlete. She won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports. ...

, who registered the same time. Manley described her start in the race as the "best of her life", having described her normal starts as notoriously bad. She thought that this may have actually distracted her as her start was so good that she was expecting the race to be recalled. She won the WAAA Championships title for 200 m at the 1950 meeting at

White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock ca ...

, which was her only WAAA title. At the

in New Zealand, she was asked after arrival if she would like to compete in the high jump – only then finding out that she had been entered in the event without her knowledge. With minimal training in the time available, she competed in the event and finished in fourth position behind

Dorothy Tyler Dorothy Jennifer Beatrice Tyler, MBE (née Odam; 14 March 1920 – 25 September 2014) was a British athlete who competed mainly in the high jump. She was born in Stockwell, London. Odam competed for Great Britain in the 1936 Summer Olympics hel ...

Bertha Crowther Bertha Crowther (9 December 1921 – 8 August 2007) was a British athlete. She competed in the women's 80 metres hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics. She represented England and won a silver medal in the high jump at the 1950 British Empi ...

and

Noelene Swinton Noelene Rae Horne (née Swinton; born 1933) is a former New Zealand high jumper. At the 1950 British Empire Games she won the bronze medal in the women's high jump. At the following 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games she placed 5th in t ...

. She was part of the women's relay teams at the Games, and won silver in the 660 yards relay and bronze in the 440 yards relay. The team won gold in the 4 × 100 m relay at the

. She described that race as particularly exciting as they had beaten the Dutch team, which included Fanny Blankers-Koen. Manley retired from athletics in 1952 after suffering from a

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The ...

condition.

Personal life

Manley married twice, first in 1949 to Peter Hall, who died in 1973, and then in 1979 to

John Parlett Harold John Parlett (19 April 1925 – 6 March 2022) was a British track and field athlete who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was born in Bromley, Greater London. Athletics career Parlett was the 800 metres champion at the 1950 Euro ...

, a middle-distance runner she knew from the 1948 Olympics. In 2012 Manley had three children, five grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. Manley died on 31 October 2021, at the age of 94.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manley, Dorothy 1927 births 2021 deaths Athletes from London English female sprinters Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games English Olympic medallists Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England European Athletics Championships medalists Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic female sprinters People from Manor Park, London