Second only to Merlene Ottey in Olympic medals won by a woman, Shirley Strickland won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports.
Strickland should in fact have won an eighth medal - photo-finish evidence from London 1948, discovered in 1975, confirmed that she finished third at 200m, but she was placed fourth and the result was never amended.
Strickland was a late starter in athletics because of the Second World War, but built up her career and became dominant in the 80m hurdles in particular.
Her father was also an athlete, but he was unable to compete in the 1900 Olympics because he could not afford the trip to Paris. She was one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
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