Sitting in Dorothy's living room in Croydon, full of pictures and memories, I am honoured to meet this competitive lady who has more of a spring in her step than I do. Dorothy is proud to tell me that she is hailed as the: "Greatest woman high jumper Britain's ever had (in terms of points), people have jumped higher, but they haven't done what I have." Over a period of 20- years, she competed in 38 International competitions, achieved 12 National titles, and participated in three Commonwealth Games and four Olympic games. Dorothy took up athletics when she was 11 after her school put a team into the district sports: "I was the only one who could high jump". Dorothy recalls how she "didn't get much support at all from home and had to walk a long way to the local track to practice. I didn't have a coach, but I was lucky to have the British Champion in my club." At just sixteen, Dorothy Odam-Tyler from Mitcham, Surrey, ventured off to the capital of Nazi Germany, Berlin for the 1936

summer Olympics where she received her first silver medal. "I had never been abroad before, I didn't read the papers, I only vaguely knew something was going on. When we arrived there were soldiers everywhere. Only the men were allowed in the Olympic village, we were in the PE College. We woke up on the first morning to the sound of marching feet. All the Hitler youths were going by with shovels over their shoulders like rifles." Youthful and conf ident Dorothy recalls shopping with her chaperone one afternoon: "When we entered the shops we were greeted with 'Guten Morgen, Heil Hitler' and we replied 'Guten Morgen. Heil King Edward'." Reflecting on the Olympics then, as opposed to today, it's clear Dorothy prefers the understated times as opposed to "all this razzmatazz they have today. When at last Hitler arrived, they let the pigeons fly out and the Olympic hymn was sung, the flag carriers then took the Olympic oath and finally the torch came in. This the f irst time the Olympics had a torch to be lit, as it was Hitler who first introduced the theme". During the games, Dorothy won silver after a tie-breaking jump-off with Hungary's Ibodya Czak. "Under today's rules I would have got the gold medal as I had fewer failures". Recounting her unique 'scissor style' jumping, Dorothy says: "It was only American's that were doing the Western roll which I didn't learn until 1948 and I never got round the straddle as you nearly broke your back when you hit the sand. I do know quite a few people who did the'straddle' have had hip replacements." Maybe the unique scissor style was the most accommodating, because Dorothy certainly doesn't seem to be suffering, she is up and down like a yoyo digging out old medals and pictures for me to see. In 1939 Dorothy broke the British World Record "in a f ield in Brentwood, jumping into a pile of sand" but her chances of attaining further Olympic titles were prevented when the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were cancelled as a result of the Second World War. During this time Dorothy played netball, led the W.A.A.F.s through physical training and drove trucks. A bomb blew up Dorothy's mothers home and all her prize medals, so she decided to compete again. By this time Dorothy was a mother to two young boys and her mother babysat while she trained at Mitcham Athletic Club: "I have often wondered whether having children clears your body out and makes you fit. I went training at Motspur Park, and I jumped so high I Olympic Winner Dorothy Odam-Tyler MBE revisits the past and shares her memories with Anna Pink, on winning silver during the 1936 Berlin and 1948 London Olympics couldn't believe it."

In 1948 Dorothy competed in the London Olympics winning the silver medal, simultaneously equalling the winners jump and breaking the Olympic Record, but losing this time on the 'new' count back rule. What makes Dorothy's account even more tremendous is that she was never paid any money to compete or to represent Great Britain. She continued to work part-time as a secretary and raised a family. "I didn't get a penny and this is why drugs have become such a problem in sport. When I was competing the only thing we had to worry about was whether we were competing against a 'real' woman.We always guessed a man was competing under the guise as a woman, as they always got changed in the toilets." Dorothy then went onto competing in a pentathlon and broke further records before discovering three International athletes while coaching. She has coached, taught, written books on teaching athletics, helped with the 2012 Olympic Bid and captained the English team in two Commonwealth Games. Her achievements are outstanding. Nowadays, when she is not undertaking interviews in the run up to the Beijing Olympics, Dorothy loves to play 18-holes on the golf course and continues to win medals and recently won the over 80's Lawrence Batley Trophy for the third time in Leatherhead: "Everything I tried and touched, I seemed to succeed at." Spoken like the true sporting heroine that she is. Dorothy is a warm, funny and very sprightly lady and it's been a true delight to hold her medals and to meet her in person.