The Northern Ireland athlete also won Empire Games and European gold and held the world record
On January 10, 1956 high jump Olympic silver medalist, 1954 European and Empire Games champion Thelma Hopkins died at the age of 88.
Born in Kingston upon Hull, he moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland as a child, then lived in Canada for many years.
In 1954 he won gold in the high jump and silver in the long jump while representing Northern Ireland at the Empire Games in Vancouver, the precursor to the Commonwealth Games.
Later that summer, he won the British high jump title at the European Championships in Bern.
Hopkins broke the high jump world record at Cherryvale in Belfast on 5 May 1956, and six months later won Olympic silver in Melbourne, sharing second place with the Soviet Union’s Maria Pisareva as the duo finished behind winner Mildred McDaniel of the United States from
Hopkins has also played hockey for Ireland, earning 40 caps, and represents the country in squash.
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