AMONG the numerous graves scattered in Winchester’s Magdalen Hill cemetery lies the tomb of Maureen Gardener, 1948 Olympic medallist, and Geoffrey Dyson, Gardner’s coach and husband. Although the five entwined Olympic rings are deteriorating slowly, their legacy remains.

Linda Nicholls encountered Maureen and Geoffrey’s grave whilst walking her dog. Although not a local resident, Linda’s frequent visits to her parents, who are at rest in the graveyard, have familiarised her with the cemetery.

It was on one of these visits that she noticed a gravestone bearing the Olympic emblem and decided to investigate further.

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The tombstone (Image: Linda Nicholls)

Her research led her to the discovery that the grave belongs to none other than two of Britain’s most cherished Olympic heroes.

Maureen Gardner was born in 1928 in Oxford. An illness which put her in hospital led to a drastic change in her career path. She turned from ballet to athletics, where she was introduced to Geoff Dyson.

Geoff Dyson was a pioneering athletics coach, whose reputation led to his appointment as chief national coach to the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA). He trained more than 3,000 British coaches, alongside a number of athletes. The most famous athlete Dyson trained was his future wife Maureen.

Gardner ran the 80-metre hurdles at the 1948 London Olympics at just 19 years old,  placing second after a close finish with Fanny Blankers-Koen. She also helped Great Britain place fourth in the 4x100m relay. One month after securing silver at the Olympics, she married Geoff.

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The 1948 London Olympics were particularly important as they were the first sporting event following World War Two. As war shook the world during the 1940s, two consecutive summer Olympic games were cancelled, in 1940 and 1944. Money was at an all-time low, and a solemn mood subsequently pervaded the country. Extraordinary achievements from athletes such as Gardner restored a new sense of hope and pride in Great Britain, and helped the country recover from years of economic turmoil.

Alongside her Olympic achievements, Gardner was a four-time AAA national champion in the 80-metre hurdles. In the 1950s European Athletic Championships, she once again placed second to Blankers-Koen in the 80-metre hurdles. Gardner became pregnant after marrying Dyson, ending her Olympic and athletics career. However, she returned to ballet and founded numerous children’s ballet schools, including in Winchester. The Lewis Allsopp school of Dancing was first established by Gardner in 1975 and remains a dance school which trains aspiring dancers.

On September 2, 1974, Maureen Gardner died of cancer, still in her 40s. Although she is no longer with us, her and her husband’s legacy endures in Winchester.