Mary Peters

Shot Putter

Birthday July 6, 1939

Birth Sign Cancer

Birthplace England

Age 84 years old

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About

After winning gold in the shot put and pentathlon events at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland, she won Olympic Gold and set a world record as a pentathlete at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, West Germany.

Before Fame

Her interest in athletics began during her time at Portadown College in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. She competed in her first Commonwealth Games in 1966, winning a silver medal in the competition's shot put event.

Trivia

After she beat German athlete Heide Rosendahl to an Olympic gold medal, Peters, who is a protestant, was subjected to several death threats from sources possibly connected to the IRA.

Family Life

She spent her earliest years in Lancashire, England, and the remainder of her life in Northern Ireland. Her father supported her early athletic aspirations by constructing training facilities for her at the family's Portadown home.

Associated With

She and fellow British shot putter Geoff Capes both won gold at the Commonwealth Games.