Olympic high jump silver medallist Hopkins dies

Thelma Hopkins set a new women's high jump world record in Belfast in May 1956 and won Olympic Games silver six months later in Melbourne

1956 Olympic high jump silver medallist Thelma Hopkins, who won Empire Games gold for Northern Ireland and also held the world record, has died at the age of 88.

Hopkins lived in Canada for many years and she passed away in Edmonton on 10 January.

The high jumper, who was born in Kingston Upon Hull in 1936 before moving to Northern Ireland, earned her first Northern Ireland senior titles as a 15-year-old in 1951 when won both the high jump and long jump.

Three years later, she clinched high jump gold and long jump silver when representing Northern Ireland at the then Empire Games in Vancouver.

Later in the same summer, Hopkins won the high jump title for Great Britain at the European Championships in Bern.

Hopkins broke the high jump world record on 5 May 1956 when leaping 1.74m at the Cherryvale Playing Fields in Belfast and six months later, the then 20-year-old athlete took Olympic Games silver in Melbourne as part of the Great Britain team.

A true sporting all-rounder, Hopkins played international hockey for Ireland, earning 40 caps, in addition to representing the country in squash.

Her Ireland hockey team-mates included Maeve Kyle, who also went on to have a hugely successful athletics career.

The then 70-year-old athlete returned to the Cherryvale Playing Fields in 2006 for the unveiling of a plaque commemorating her world record achievement.

Hopkins' Northern Ireland long jump record of 6.11m set in 1956 was only finally bettered in 2013.