Celebrity Featured: Betty Cuthbert
Artist: Helen Edwards
About Betty Cuthbert
Betty Cuthbert was born in Ermington in the Western Suburbs of Sydney in 1938. She starred in school sports from an early age and in 1951, won the sprint events at the Australian School Championships.
Betty Cuthbert became Australia's Golden Girl of the 1956 Olympics winning three gold medals. Cuthbert was making her international debut at the age of eighteen, but had already set a world record for 220y. In 1964 she became one of the all-time greats when she came back to win the 400m at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
At age 26 she retired from competition, but remained involved with the sport, coaching a number of athletes including the outstanding middle distance runner, Cheryl Peasley. Today, Betty Cuthbert lives a quiet life in Western Australia.