Rosemary Olivia Wright (née Stirling, born 11 December 1947) is a former British sprinter and

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

. She won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1969 European Championships, and a gold medal in the 800m at the

1970 Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games (Scottish Gaelic: Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis Bhreatainn 1970) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time ...

. Her 800m best of 2:00.15, stood as the Scottish record for 30 years (1972-2002).

Career

Born in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

Canterbury, New Zealand Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current f ...

to a Scottish father and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

mother, she moved with her family to

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, England as a teenager where she joined the Wolverhampton Harriers. At the age of 16 she was one of the best British female runners over 800 metres. In the

British Empire and Commonwealth 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 ...

in 1966 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

she competed for Scotland over 440 yards and 880 yards and finished in fourth place in both events. In 1969 she won the Bronze medal in the 400m at the European Indoor Games in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. She also competed at the

1969 European Championships in Athletics The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16–21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1500 metres and the women's 4×400 metres relay event. Moreover, ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, placing eighth in the 400 metres final and, with teammates Pat Lowe,

Janet Simpson Janet Mary Simpson (2 September 1944 – 14 March 2010) was a British athlete who competed in sprint events and the 400 metres. She competed for Great Britain in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan in the 4 x 100 metres relay, wh ...

and

Lillian Board Lillian Barbara Board, (13 December 1948 – 26 December 1970) was a British athlete. She won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and two gold medals at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in ...

, helping Great Britain win gold in the 4 x 400-metres relay in world record time (3:30.8) . At the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

she won gold in the 800 metres race. At the European Indoor Athletics Championships in 1971 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, she was awarded the 800m Bronze medal behind

Hildegard Falck Hildegard Falck (née ''Janze'' on 8 June 1949) is a retired West German runner. At the 1972 Olympics she won a gold medal in the 800 m and a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay with West German team. In the 800 m final she finished 0.1 seconds ...

and

Ileana Silai Ileana Silai (née ''Gergely'' on 14 October 1941) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She competed in the 800 m at the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics and in the 1500 m at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. She won a silver over 800 m in 1968. A ...

. She also won Bronze the same year at the European Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

she finished seventh in the 800 metres with a personal best time of 2:00.15 that lasted as a UK record until 1979. In 1974, at the British Commonwealth Games in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand she was a member of the Scottish relay team that finished fourth. At the European Indoor Championships in

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 ...

she finished in fourth place in the 800 m.Hall of Fame Athletics
Retrieved 26 June 2013Sporting Heroes
Retrieved 26 June 2013 Rosemary married her English-born husband, Trevor Wright who ran for New Zealand, having met him while competing in

in 1971. She lived in Wolverhampton until the age of 34, when the couple moved to New Zealand.Golden Girl Returns
Retrieved 26 June 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Rosemary 1947 births Living people Sportspeople from Timaru Sportspeople from Wolverhampton British female sprinters Scottish female sprinters Scottish female middle-distance runners Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom Olympic female sprinters Anglo-Scots New Zealand people of Scottish descent Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games