Marise Chamberlain, the only Kiwi woman to win an Olympic track medal, has died

Marise Chamberlain, in 2008, won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

By RNZ

• Marise Chamberlain, the only New Zealand woman to win an Olympic track medal, has died.
• Chamberlain won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and set multiple world records.
• She was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003.

Marise Chamberlain, the only New Zealand woman to have won an Olympic track medal, has died. She was 88.

Chamberlain won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and set world records over distances from 440 yards to the mile.

She also won a Commonwealth Games silver medal in the 880 yards in Perth in 1962.

All up she won 17 national titles.

A profile on the New Zealand Olympic Committee website said: “At a time when athletes were expected to pay their way everywhere, Chamberlain went to a masseur three times a week and paid for that, which took a big chunk out of her typist’s pay.”

Chamberlain said she was incredibly nervous throughout her time in Tokyo.

“Once the heats began I felt a bit better. I finished second, just behind the Frenchwoman, Dupureur, and we qualified easily.

“In the semifinal I ran very well. Dr Grigor, our team doctor, let me ring [my coach] Valdy [Briedis] back in Christchurch each night as a reward for running so well. Talking to Valdy was reassuring. But even so I had a terrible night before the final. I must have run that race 20 times in my head. I wouldn’t be surprised if I never had a moment of sleep all night.

Marise Chamberlain at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Photo / Public Domain

“I felt really bad in the warm-up before the final. I’d never felt so weak. The more people said ‘good luck’, the weaker I felt. On the starting line I was in lane seven, between the two Brits, Ann Packer and Anne Smith. All their supporters were just across the track cheering for them. It was very intimidating,” she said.

“When the race began I found myself near the back and then the German, Antje Gleichfeld, elbowed me really hard. I almost fell off the track, and would have, but for a pair of hands behind me catching me and pushing me back. I think it was Ann Packer. I didn’t know Gleichfeld was known for those sorts of tactics. I’d never been in that sort of race before.

“I could never describe how happy I felt afterwards. I wanted so much to be able to stand on that dais at an Olympics. When I stepped up, I thought about all those years of sweat and grime and dirt, the terrible conditions, my parents holding meals for me for all those years, all the help I’d got from so many people ... I burst into tears, and cried and cried.”

Chamberlain’s 800m national record of 2:01.4, set on a grass track in 1962, stood for 34 years.

She was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and eight years later made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

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