‘Remarkable and joyous’ – Lady Mary Peters on 50th anniversary of Olympic gold medal win

When Lady Mary Peters talks about leaving a legacy, she means it. And, at the age of 83, is still working tirelessly to enhance it further.

Saturday will mark the 50th anniversary of the Northern Ireland athlete’s historic gold medal win in the pentathlon at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

A series of celebration events is planned in Belfast over the weekend which she will enjoy, but, as she looked ahead to the milestone, it was when speaking about the work she has done during those intervening 50 years that seemed to fill her with most pride.

The Mary Peters Track in south Belfast opened in 1976 and, for over 40 years now, the Mary Peters Trust has been offering support to aspiring young athletes from Northern Ireland to help them reach their full sporting potential.

“It is remarkable and it is joyous,” Lady Mary said when asked how it feels to see the long list of athletes supported by the Trust, which includes Rory McIlroy and Rhys McClenaghan, doing so well.

“I saw Carl Frampton out running with his son recently and Graeme McDowell is still playing well – we gave him £1,000 when he went off to an American university,” she said.

“Leona Maguire is doing so well, Bethany Firth and Michael McKillop – you name them, they are there. Ciara Mageean, who got two silver medals recently – Commonwealth and European – and nobody could be prouder of her than I am.

“And our boxers, such as Paddy Barnes, aren’t they brilliant. They are grateful, they show their appreciation for the support that we gave them early on.

“They have grown in stature as well, and they are helping others now because they had the success that they have had. It will be an ongoing success story, I hope. The Mary Peters Trust is close to my heart. I work nearly every day for it, and it doesn’t hurt me at all.”