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Dorothy Tyler, who has died aged 94, was one of Britain's foremost athletes of the 20th century. Tyler, who met Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, and whose family home was bombed by the Germans, was the only female athlete to win Olympic medals either side of the second world war. She was Britain's first individual Olympic medallist in women's athletics, she set a high jump world record that was not ratified for nearly 20 years, and also won gold medals in the Empire (now Commonwealth) Games 12 years apart, before becoming an innovative coach who worked with the great ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes. In the 1950s she was the first British woman to hold the qualifications to coach male athletes. Dorothy Tyler, who has died aged 94, was one of Britain's foremost athletes of the 20th century. Tyler, who met Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, and whose family home was bombed by the Germans, was the only female athlete to win Olympic medals either side of the second world war. She was Britain's first individual Olympic medallist in women's athletics, she set a high jump world record that was not ratified for nearly 20 years, and also won gold medals in the Empire (now Commonwealth) Games 12 years apart, before becoming an innovative coach who was assisted by the great ballet dancers Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes. In the 1950s she was the first British woman to hold the qualifications to coach male athletes.
Her earliest successes were as Dorothy Odam, her maiden name. She was born in south London and spent all her life in the Mitcham and Croydon area. Tyler took up athletics as a girl "as a means of escape from home", in her own words. Her parents had a deteriorating relationship during her teenage years and her father left home when she was 18: she never saw him again. Her earliest successes were achieved under her maiden name, Dorothy Odam. She was born in south London and spent all her life in the and Croydon area. Dorothy took up athletics as a girl "as a means of escape from home", in her own words. Her parents had a deteriorating relationship during her teenage years and her father left home when she was 18: she never saw him again. Aged 20 she would marry Dick Tyler, a fellow local athlete.
When Tyler won a schools contest, the prize was membership of Mitcham Athletics Club. She taught herself how to do the high jump, and was a good all-rounder who also competed in the javelin, 80m hurdles, and long jump in the Empire Games. One of her regrets was that she had no formal coaching until the age of 28, when Arthur Gold, the international high jumper who would later become chairman of the British Olympic Association, took her on. When Dorothy won a schools contest, the prize was membership of Mitcham Athletics Club. She taught herself how to do the high jump, and was a good all-rounder who also competed in the javelin, 80m hurdles, and long jump in the Empire Games. One of her regrets was that she had no formal coaching until she was 28, when Arthur Gold, the international high jumper who would later become chairman of the British Olympic Association, took her on. In 1936 Tyler, then aged 16, was one of 13 British female athletes, accompanied by three chaperones, in the team for the Berlin Olympics. She met Hitler at a lavish function for female competitors and later recalled him as "a small man in a large uniform – I felt I wanted to slap him". Goebbels was "a bit of a womaniser".
In 1936 Tyler, then aged 16, was one of 13 British women athletes, and three chaperones, in the team for the Berlin Olympics. She met Hitler at a lavish function for women competitors and later recalled him as "a small man in a large uniform – I felt I wanted to slap him". Goebbels was "a bit of a womaniser". In the Olympic Stadium Tyler was first to clear 1.60m. Nobody went higher in an exciting contest watched by 80,000. She lost, though, in a jump-off against the Hungarian Ibolya Csák: under today's rules she would have won, having been first to clear the height. The rules were changed before the next Olympics, in London in 1948, when Tyler again finished second. This time, had the prewar rules still been in place, she would have won gold rather than silver. She never complained, stating: "The rules are the rules." Two years after the Olympics, Tyler sailed to Sydney with the England team for the Empire Games. On the final day of competition she won the high jump, becoming the athletics team's only female gold medallist.
In the Olympic Stadium Tyler was first to clear 1.60m. Nobody went higher in an exciting contest watched by 80,000. She lost, though, in a jump-off against the Hungarian, Ibolya Csák: under today's rules she would have won, having been first to clear the height. The rules were changed before the next Olympics, in London in 1948, when Tyler again finished second. This time, had the prewar rules still been in place, she would have won gold rather than silver. She never complained, stating: "The rules are the rules." In 1939 she set a world record of 1.66m, at Brentwood, Essex, though it was not officially recognised until 1957, the year she retired from competition, aged 37. The German who had jumped 1.67m a few months before Tyler's effort, Dora Ratjen, was in fact a man. The Nazis were said to have known, but they selected Ratjen for the Olympics to avoid having to choose another contender for the high jump, who was Jewish. Ratjen's world record claim was withdrawn by the Germans when his gender became public knowledge in the 40s, but because of an administrative error in 1946 by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, the withdrawal was not recorded – until a review in 1957. That world record was one of the reasons why, in 1959, Tyler was voted Britain's all-time best female athlete by the athletics statisticians' union.
Two years after the Olympics, Tyler sailed to Sydney with the England team for the Empire Games. On the final day of competition she won the high jump, becoming the athletics team's only female gold medallist. She did not see her husband for five years during the war, and for a while she thought he was dead when he went missing in Burma. Tyler lived with her mother and had a narrow escape when the front of their house was blown away by a German bomb, while mother and daughter were safe in a shelter at the end of the garden. Tyler's mother collapsed when she saw the damage. "I revived her with a cup of tea," Tyler recalled later. Tyler served in the RAF, driving lorries at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, for 617 Squadron, the Dambusters. She also held PE sessions for men and women.
In 1939 she set a world record of 1.66m, at Brentwood, Essex, though it was not officially recognised until 1957, the year she retired from competition, aged 37. The German who had jumped 1.67m a few months before Tyler's effort, Dora Ratjen, was in fact a man. The Nazis were said to have been aware of the fact, but they selected Ratjen for the Olympics to avoid having to select another contender for the high jump, who was Jewish. Ratjen's world record claim was withdrawn by the Germans when his gender became public knowledge in the 40s, but because of an administrative error in 1946 by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, the withdrawal was not recorded – until a review in 1957. That world record was one of the reasons why, in 1959, Tyler was voted Britain's all-time best female athlete by the athletics statisticians' union.
In 1940 she married Dick Tyler, a fellow local athlete. She did not see him for five years during the war, and for a while she thought he was dead when he went missing in Burma. Tyler lived with her mother and had a narrow escape when the front of their house was blown away by a German bomb, while mother and daughter were safe in a shelter at the end of the garden. Tyler's mother collapsed when she saw the damage. "I revived her with a cup of tea," Tyler recalled later. Tyler served in the RAF, driving lorries at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, for 617 Squadron, the Dambusters. She also held PE sessions for men and women.
Tyler gave birth to two sons, David and Barry, before she returned to training for the 1948 Olympics. She retained her Empire high jump title in Auckland in 1950, and captained the women's team at the 1954 Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. She also competed in two more Olympics, in Helsinki in 1952 (seventh) and Melbourne in 1956 (12th).Tyler gave birth to two sons, David and Barry, before she returned to training for the 1948 Olympics. She retained her Empire high jump title in Auckland in 1950, and captained the women's team at the 1954 Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. She also competed in two more Olympics, in Helsinki in 1952 (seventh) and Melbourne in 1956 (12th).
Tyler was an innovative coach. Her mother had been a dancer, and Tyler and Gold asked the ballet dancers Fonteyn and Somes to help out at Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, where elite young athletes would train. The dancers were pleased to be asked. "Ballet gets to your very fingertips, to every muscle in your body," Tyler explained. She also once offered her advice to young women taking up athletics: "Go to bed at eight o'clock until you are married." Tyler was a pioneering coach. Her mother had been a dancer, and Tyler and Gold asked the ballet dancers Fonteyn and Somes to help out at Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, where elite young athletes would train. The dancers were pleased to be asked. "Ballet gets to your very fingertips, to every muscle in your body," Tyler said. She also once offered her advice to young women taking up athletics: "Go to bed at eight o'clock until you are married."
Not all her fellow athletes warmed to her forthright manner. In 2008 Tyler was an outspoken special guest at an awards lunch hosted by the Sports Journalists' Association, who had also invited Princess Anne and Dick Fosbury, the 1968 Olympic high jump champion. Fosbury, an American, and the Canadian Debbie Brill had changed high-jumping for ever in the late 60s with the Brill Bend and the Fosbury Flop, new styles in which the jumper went over the bar head first, on their back, with the legs clearing the bar last. This was unlike anything ever seen before and, Tyler announced to an audience of hundreds at the lunch, it was cheating. "You can't go over the bar head first," she said. She was wrong, but nobody took offence. Not all her fellow athletes warmed to her forthright manner. In 2008 Tyler was an outspoken special guest at an awards lunch hosted by the Sports Journalists' Association, who had also invited the Princess Royal and Dick Fosbury, the 1968 Olympic high jump champion. Fosbury, an American, and the Canadian Debbie Brill had changed the high jump for ever in the late 60s with the Brill Bend and the Fosbury Flop, new styles in which the jumper went over the bar head first, on their back, with the legs clearing the bar last. This was unlike anything ever seen before and, Tyler announced to an audience of hundreds at the lunch that it was cheating. "You can't go over the bar head first," she said. She was wrong, but nobody took offence.
She is survived by Dick and her sons.
In 2001 Tyler was appointed MBE. In 2012, she was the official starter for the London Marathon.In 2001 Tyler was appointed MBE. In 2012, she was the official starter for the London Marathon.
She is survived by Dick and her sons.
• Dorothy Jennifer Beatrice Tyler, high jumper and coach, born 14 March 14 1920; died 25 September 2014• Dorothy Jennifer Beatrice Tyler, high jumper and coach, born 14 March 14 1920; died 25 September 2014