Pamela Kilborn née Ryan, AM, MBE (born 12 August 1939) is an Australian former athlete who set world records as a

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

. For three years, she was ranked as the world's top woman hurdler. Kilborn was also an Olympic class sprinter,

Long Jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

er and

pentathlete A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

, and loved shot put, she also won a total of 17 individual Australian Championships between 1962 and 1972.

Career

Early career

Kilborn was born on 12 August 1939 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. She began competing in athletics there during the late 1950s. She competed for the University High School team, under coach Henri Schubert alongside her good friend Judy Amoore (later Pollock). In 1960 she attempted to gain selection for the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

but could only place third in the Australian Championships with only the first two athletes chosen. She was reputedly so ill during these Championships that she had to be assisted on the medal dais. During 1961 her performances at both hurdles and long jump had improved substantially and she was ranked No. 4 and No. 10 in the world, respectively, at the end of the year.

International career

At the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, Kilborn became one of the stars of the Games, upsetting world-record holder Betty Moore in the 80 m hurdles race before winning the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

contest ahead of two countrywomen Helen Frith (silver) and Janet Knee (bronze). Two years later, at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

in Tokyo, she won the bronze medal behind

Karin Balzer Karin Balzer (''née'' Richert; 5 June 1938 – 17 December 2019) was an East German hurdler who competed in the 80 m hurdles event at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics, and in the 100 m hurdles in 1972. She won a gold medal in 1964 and a bronz ...

(gold) and

Teresa Ciepły Teresa Barbara Ciepły (''née'' Wieczorek; 19 October 1937 – 8 March 2006) was a Polish sprinter and hurdler who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Biography At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, she represented Poland and won a br ...

(silver) after having equalled the Olympic record in the semi-final. Soon after the Games, on 5 October 1964, she equalled the World Record for 80 m Hurdles, running 10.5 in Tokyo. On 6 February 1965 in

, she bettered her record with a 10.4 time. At the

1966 Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. The event was followed by the 1966 Commonweal ...

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

she won gold medals in 80 m hurdles and 4x110 yards relay. In 1967 she broke Christine Perera's unofficial 100 m hurdles world record of 13.7 seconds and improved it twice up to 13.3 seconds in 1969. Having been undefeated since the 1964 Olympics, Kilborn was the favourite for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

in Mexico City. At the Games she was hampered by a shoulder injury and could not overcome her surprising teenage countrywoman

Maureen Caird Maureen Caird (born 29 September 1951) is an Australian former track athlete, who specialised in the sprint hurdles. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, she became the youngest-ever individual Olympic athletics champion at the time, at age 17, w ...

in the rain-affected final. She won silver in the 80 metre hurdles. In 1970 the international hurdling distance was extended to 100 metres and, competing at the British Commonwealth Games, she beat Caird to take yet another gold medal. Her three successive golds was the most ever won by any athlete at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. Earlier in the Games she was chosen to carry the Australian standard in the Opening Ceremony; the first time a woman had been awarded this honour. After a brief retirement, she returned to the track and won the British 200 and 200 metres hurdles

WAAA Championships The WAAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA) in England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event for women during its lifetime. Since 1880, the Amateur Athl ...

titles at the 1972 WAAA Championships and then had one last Olympic campaign in 1972. She set a World Record of 12.5 (12.93 automatic timing) shortly before the 1972 Olympics in Munich, but could only run fourth in the Olympic final.

Honours

Kilborn was made a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

1971 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1971 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lon ...

for services in sporting and international spheres,Australia list: and a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2008. She was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1985 and received a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

in 2001.

Statistics

National Records
Kilborn set multiple Australian records in seven different events during her career: 80 metre hurdles, 100 metres hurdles, 200 metres hurdles, Long Jump, Pentathlon, 4 x 200 metres relay, and 4 x 220 yards relay. World Records Over 80 metres hurdles, Kilborn set two official world records in 1964 and 1965. In the 100 metres hurdles, she set one official world record at

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

on 28 June 1972. At 200 m hurdles, Kilborn-Ryan set four official world records between 1969 and 1971, with a best of 25.7. In team events, she set a world record for 4 x 220 yards relay of 1:35.8 in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on 9 November 1969, teaming with

Raelene Boyle Raelene Ann Boyle (born 24 June 1951) is an Australian retired athlete, who represented Australia at three Olympic Games as a Sprint (running), sprinter, winning three silver medals, and was named one of 100 Australian Living Treasures, Nation ...

, Jenny Lamy and Marion Hoffman. Personal Bests World Rankings – Hurdles and Long Jump Australian Championships Record – prior to 1963 Championships were held every two years

References

External links