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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Maeve Kyle, Irish trailblazer and 3-time Olympian, dies at 96
DUBLIN (AP) — Maeve Kyle, who became Ireland's first female track-and-field Olympian when she competed at the 1956 Melbourne Games, has died. She was 96. The Olympic Federation of Ireland said Wednesday that Kyle was a 'trailblazer for women's sport.' The cause of death was not announced. 'She competed at three consecutive Olympic Games – Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, and Tokyo 1964 – at a time when women had to overcome huge prejudice and when opportunities in international athletics were extremely limited,' the federation said in its announcement. The federation also praised the breadth of Kyle's career. "A sprinter and middle-distance runner, she represented Ireland in the 100m and 200m sprints in 1956 and 1960, and went on to reach the semifinals of the 400m at the age of 36 in Tokyo 1964, cementing her status as one of Ireland's all-time greats on the track,' the statement added. Kyle also represented Ireland more than 50 times in field hockey. 'We have lost a legend of Irish Olympic sport who rose to the top despite huge challenges in 1950s Ireland. She was an inspiration to us all. May she rest in peace,' OFI president Lochlann Walsh said. ___ AP Sports:
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Maeve Kyle, Irish trailblazer and 3-time Olympian, dies at 96
DUBLIN (AP) — Maeve Kyle, who became Ireland's first female track-and-field Olympian when she competed at the 1956 Melbourne Games, has died. She was 96. The Olympic Federation of Ireland said Wednesday that Kyle was a 'trailblazer for women's sport.' The cause of death was not announced. 'She competed at three consecutive Olympic Games – Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, and Tokyo 1964 – at a time when women had to overcome huge prejudice and when opportunities in international athletics were extremely limited,' the federation said in its announcement. The federation also praised the breadth of Kyle's career. 'A sprinter and middle-distance runner, she represented Ireland in the 100m and 200m sprints in 1956 and 1960, and went on to reach the semifinals of the 400m at the age of 36 in Tokyo 1964, cementing her status as one of Ireland's all-time greats on the track,' the statement added. Kyle also represented Ireland more than 50 times in field hockey. 'We have lost a legend of Irish Olympic sport who rose to the top despite huge challenges in 1950s Ireland. She was an inspiration to us all. May she rest in peace,' OFI president Lochlann Walsh said. ___ AP Sports:
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Maeve Kyle, Irish trailblazer and 3-time Olympian, dies at 96
DUBLIN (AP) — Maeve Kyle, who became Ireland's first female track-and-field Olympian when she competed at the 1956 Melbourne Games, has died. She was 96. The Olympic Federation of Ireland said Wednesday that Kyle was a 'trailblazer for women's sport.' The cause of death was not announced. 'She competed at three consecutive Olympic Games – Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, and Tokyo 1964 – at a time when women had to overcome huge prejudice and when opportunities in international athletics were extremely limited,' the federation said in its announcement. The federation also praised the breadth of Kyle's career. 'A sprinter and middle-distance runner, she represented Ireland in the 100m and 200m sprints in 1956 and 1960, and went on to reach the semifinals of the 400m at the age of 36 in Tokyo 1964, cementing her status as one of Ireland's all-time greats on the track,' the statement added. Kyle also represented Ireland more than 50 times in field hockey. 'We have lost a legend of Irish Olympic sport who rose to the top despite huge challenges in 1950s Ireland. She was an inspiration to us all. May she rest in peace,' OFI president Lochlann Walsh said. ___ AP Sports:
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Trailblazer Maeve Kyle, Ireland's first female Olympian in athletics, dies aged 96
Athletics Ireland have led the tributes to Irish Olympic and sporting trailblazer Maeve Kyle, who has died at the age of 96. A three-time Olympian, and the first Irish woman to compete in track and field at the Olympics, Kyle devoted much of her life to sport. In a statement Athletics Ireland said Kyle was 'a true pioneer of Irish sport and one of our most iconic and inspirational athletes; she was a torchbearer who lit the path for those who followed. Her legacy lives on in the athletes she inspired and the standards she set.' Olympic Federation of Ireland president Lochlann Walsh added: 'We have lost a legend of Irish Olympic sport who rose to the top despite huge challenges in 1950s Ireland. She was an inspiration to us all. May she rest in peace.' READ MORE In 2012, Kyle was the recipient of The Irish Times/Sport Ireland Lifetime Achievement award, presented by 1956 Olympic 1,500m champion Ronnie Delany, her team-mate on her maiden Olympic voyage of 1956. It was at those Games in Melbourne where Kyle became the first woman to represent Ireland in athletics at the Olympics, selected in both the 100m and 200m events. Kyle often told the story of how news of her selection for Melbourne was greeted, perhaps best surmised in a letter printed in The Irish Times. Maeve Kyle (87) first represented Ireland in three Olympic Games, Melbourne in 56', Rome in 60' and Tokyo in 64'. She was the first female representative for Ireland in the Games and was trained by her husband Seán Kyle. Video: Enda O'Dowd 'I was a disgrace to motherhood and the Irish nation', she once proudly recalled. 'That's what one letter in The Irish Times said. Imagine! A woman leaving her husband and daughter to go and run!' Kyle's achievements didn't stop there, as she packed several lifetimes worth of sporting involvement across several different codes. Born in Kilkenny in 1928, educated in Dublin at Alexandra College before attending Trinity College, her first love was hockey. Kyle earned 58 Irish caps and represented three of the four Irish provinces – Leinster, Munster and Ulster – and she was also named in the All-Star teams of 1953 and 1959. In addition to Melbourne, she also competed in the Rome Olympics in 1960 and in Tokyo in 1964, reaching the semi-finals of both the 400m and 800m. She also took bronze in the 400m at the 1966 European Indoor Athletics Championships in Dortmund. Kyle was equally deft at tennis, swimming, sailing and cricket. She later cofounded the Ballymena and Antrim Athletic Club with her late husband and coach Seán. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Ireland's first female track-and-field Olympian Kyle dies at 96
Maeve Kyle, Ireland's first female track-and-field Olympian, has died at the age of 96, the Olympic Federation of Ireland said on Wednesday. Kyle, who also earned more than 50 caps for the Irish national hockey team, appeared in the Melbourne 1956 Olympics, competing in the 100m and 200m races, becoming the first Irishwoman to compete in the discipline at the Games. "She competed at three consecutive Olympic Games... at a time when women had to overcome huge prejudice and when opportunities in international athletics were extremely limited," the OFI said in a statement. Kyle reached the semi-finals in both 400m and 800m races at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. She won bronze in 400m at the European Indoor Athletics Championships two years later. "We have lost a legend of Irish Olympic sport who rose to the top despite huge challenges in 1950s Ireland. She was an inspiration to us all," said OFI President Lochlann Walsh. REUTERS
