Lady Mary Peters: a champion of sport and community

Consisting of high jump, hurdles, long jump, shot put and running, the women’s pentathlon was likely the best all-around measure of female athleticism. It is not much of a logical leap to conclude that the winner of the Olympic women’s pentathlon (which has since added two events to become a heptathlon) was the most physically able woman on the planet.

Out of roughly 2 billion females inhabiting the world in 1972, Mary Peters was the one who became the pentathlon champion at the Summer Olympics in Munich, where she competed on behalf of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Born in Lancashire, Peters was age 11 when her family relocated to Northern Ireland (first to Ballymena, then Portadown and, eventually, Belfast). Her father nurtured her athletic talent and eventually bought her two tons of sand so she could train in the long jump. He also built her a cement shot put circle.

Peters, who attended Portadown College, later worked as a teacher and secretary — and also spent much of her life training for various athletic competitions, such as the British Championships, the Commonwealth Games and, of course, the Olympic Games.

Having placed 4th in the 1964 Olympics and 9th in the 1968 Olympics, she was not expected to win in 1972.

But in what was her final chance on the world’s highest stage, Peters — then age 33 — had her finest hour, setting personal bests in four of the pentathlon’s five events, and edging out the hometown German heroine Heide Rosendahl for the gold medal.

The very next day, the Olympics suffered a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches, along with one German police officer.

It was also a bad time in Belfast. In fact, 1972 was Northern Ireland’s most lethal year of conflict, with almost 500 persons killed, more than half of whom were civilians.

Peters would face threats on her life after winning gold, but she returned to Belfast despite the safety concerns. At a parade in her honor, she told the crowd, “I went for Gold, I won Gold and I brought it back for you.” Months later, she received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

In March 1973, her Olympic coach Buster McShane, who had been so crucial in helping her maximize her potential, died in a car accident. With emotions stirred by both recent tragedy and triumph, she turned her attention toward making a positive impact in Belfast.

After a period of determined fundraising, she opened the Mary Peters Track on the outskirts of Belfast in April 1976. Also around this time, she established the Sports Trust (now called the Mary Peters Trust). Along with raising money to improve athletic resources in the region, she sought to use sports as a way to bridge relations between groups who have had a troubled history together.

Additionally, Peters has worked on behalf of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and the Northern Ireland Outward Bound Association, which facilitates outdoor learning for young people.

Peters, who in the year 2000 was given the title of “Dame,” has received many honorary distinctions and was the first athlete ever to enter the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the most exclusive order of chivalry in the United Kingdom.

For a solid half-century, she has worked tirelessly to promote both the Belfast region and athletic competition within it. Now in her mid-80s, she remains an active lady with an autobiography that recently saw publication.