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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport

EXPLAINED: A gleaming tribute to mary rand s gold | Rare Historical Photos

Mary Rand in the women's long jump final during the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
Mary Rand in the women's long jump final during the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. Her gold-medal and world-record jump is commemorated in Wells, Somerset. Photograph: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

As a schoolboy, I was fascinated by coverage of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. A few years later, on a family holiday, we visited Wells Cathedral. Outside the grounds lay a gleaming brass strip in the pavement marking the distance that Mary Rand long-jumped to create her world record. A lovely tribute to this remarkable person (Mary Rand, first British woman to win Olympic athletics gold, dies aged 86, 27 March).
Anil Bhatt
Sunderland

• Your review of the fourth instalment of Alan Bennett’s diaries, Enough Said (24 March), says he nearly always notes the anniversary of the beginning of his national service: “8/8/52. The day I was called up. A Thursday.” Oh no it wasn’t – I was born that day and it was a Friday.
Ann Branson
Leicester

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