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Classic Olympic Highlights from the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games as Ann Packer wins the women's 800m gold medal for Great Britain.
Despite being a very versatile athlete, at the Tokyo 1964 Games, Ann Packer decided to concentrate her efforts on the 400m and then, almost as an after-thought, entered the 800m, another event in which she had little experience but lots of potential.
Packer set a European record in the 400m final, but had to be content with a silver medal behind the Australian Betty Cuthbert, who had sprinted clear and held on, despite Packer closing in the final stages. The British athlete turned now to the longer distance, but was not confident of matching that medal-winning performance.
She could finish only fifth in the opening heat, scraping into the next round, and was then third in her semi-final. Feeling tired, and lacking confidence, Packer considered missing the final entirely to go shopping. But she was inspired by her fiancé, athlete Robbie Brightwell, who had finished a disappointing fourth in the men's 400m final and was despondent on missing out on a medal.
And so, to cheer him up, Packer decided to race anyway. The race was led from the start by the French athlete Maryvonne Dupureur, who broke away from the pack and held first place for most of its distance. Behind her, though, Packer moved up from eighth, to sixth, to third and then overtook Dupureur with 70 metres to go, holding on to win in a new world record time. "It was so easy, I could not believe I had won," said Packer afterwards. "I knew nothing about the event and that probably helped."
It was a triumph that appeared to set up this exceptional athlete for a glittering sporting future. Instead, Packer retired from competition at the age of just 22. She married Robbie - who had won his own medal with a silver in the 4x400m relay - and they had three sons - one became a 400m runner, the other two became professional footballers.
Find more about the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games: www.olympic.org...
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