Fifty years ago this week, Mary Rand and Lynn Davies leapt to gold in the long jump competitions and established themselves into athletics folklore at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. Half a century on, we caught up with them both to talk about their fond memories of the Games. 

On the 14 October 1964, both long jump competitions were held and the conditions were wet and windy. As Davies remembers it, it was very ‘typical Welsh weather’ and he saw it as an advantage. However, he admits he exceeded all of his expectations in winning the gold in Tokyo.

“Remember, when I went to Tokyo, my aim was just to make the final and maybe, an outside chance of winning a bronze medal. I was up against the two world record holders at the time, Ralph Boston and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan – they had both jumped 8.35m and my best was 8.04m, so I knew it would take something unusual to beat them both in the final and it did!”

All the athletes had to compete in the same conditions but it was having an effect on the whole field. Going into the fifth round, the leading jump was 7.88m, which was way down on the personal bests of those in the competition. Davies sensed an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.

“I realised that I had an opportunity there to jump 8m plus, which I had done in wet and windy conditions before. In the fifth round I waited for the wind to subside and then I jumped. I knew it was a good one before I landed. I had jumped 8.07m which was a personal best for me and a British record at the time, and I took the lead by almost a foot.”

He faced an agonizing wait but as his rivals failed to beat 8.07m, Davies’s Olympic dream was realised at the age of just twenty-two.

“It was an incredible feeling to have beaten two of my heroes to win the Olympic gold medal.”

The gold medal rush was not complete. Mary Rand took to the runway at the Tokyo National Stadium in her search for Olympic gold after disappointment four years earlier, and she admitted nerves were evident in her team on the morning of the event.

“John (Le Masurier) was an amazing coach and good for me and we had good relationships. He was kind of worried about the same thing happening like it did in Rome (Rand finished ninth in the long jump). I said don’t worry John, everybody is out there doing their thing and I was well prepared. I remember vividly that it was raining that morning, which wasn’t ideal, but it’s the same for every competitor. We’re all against the odds and we just hoped that we could do the best we can.”

24 at the time, the Wells-born athlete needed just one jump to qualify for the final and in jumping 6.52m; she secured herself an Olympic record. However, there was more to come in the final. In her series of six jumps, Rand broke the Olympic record five times and on her fifth round broke Tatana Shchelkanova’s three-year reign as world record holder by jumping 6.76m. With an Olympic gold medal around her neck, Olympic records and a world record, the disappointment of Rome was quickly erased and replaced with elation.

Rand said, “I can remember thinking to myself I’ve done all the training and if I could get in the final six that would be amazing. That’s what I thought and when I got in the final six, I thought maybe I could get in the top three. I never imagined that I would be Olympic champion so it was wonderful for me.”

Although she was breaking records, Rand was not completely sure how ground-breaking her performance was due to the scoring system.

“I was a bit naïve – they were putting it on the scoreboard in metres, and we didn’t work in those measurements, so I couldn’t convert it. Even when I jumped the world record, I didn’t realise how far it was until I looked back at the programme.”

 “When I won, which I didn’t realise at the time, there was such a feeling with in the team ‘if Mary can do it, we can do it.”

The gold medal trend followed with gold for Ann Packer in the 800m and Ken Matthews in the 20km walk and several more medals to complete the stunning medal haul.

They were all greeted with a hero’s welcome on their return to Britain and Davies believes that the performances in Tokyo raised the bar for future teams going to an Olympic Games.

“The gold medals from myself, Ann Packer, Mary Rand and Ken Matthews showed that British athletes could win medals at an Olympic Games, regardless of your background. I think it gave coaches, clubs and everyone involved in athletics huge encouragement that now we had athletes taking on the very best in the world and we were winning. For the following years it set a standard for our athletes and coaches to follow.”

“The athletics community wanted to share that success – we were suddenly heroes. It was a great boost for our sport in this country.”

Both were very proud to be part of the team and hope their performances inspired generations to take part in athletics. Rand hopes their performances are remembered for years to come.

“I hope I’m remembered as someone who always gave it their all when competing. I did the best I could and loved doing what I did. I’m just very proud to win an Olympic gold and be the first woman to win one for Great Britain.”