Mary Denise Rand, MBE, (née Bignal) (born 10 February 1940) in Wells, Somerset is a former British track-and-field athlete. She won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1964 Summer Olympics, becoming the first-ever British female to win an Olympic gold medal in a track and field event. Six days later, room-mate Ann Packer won gold in the 800 metres.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  United Kingdom
| ||
| Women's athletics | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 |
Tokyo 1964 | Long Jump |
 |
Tokyo 1964 | Pentathlon |
 |
Tokyo 1964 | 4 x 100 m relay |
| European Championships | ||
|
Belgrade 1962 | Long Jump |
|
Belgrade 1962 | 4 x 100 m relay |
|
Cardiff 1958 | Long Jump |
|
Kingston 1966 | Long Jump |
Her second husband was American Bill Toomey, the 1968 Olympic champion in the decathlon. Now married to her third husband, John Reese, she lives in the United States [1].
There is a plaque commemorating the world record long jump (6.76 metres) by Rand at the 1964 Olympic Games located in the Market Place at Wells, Somerset, England, where she was born and grew up.
At the age of 17, Rand set a British national record of 4046 points in the pentathlon [2]. She won a silver medal in the 1958 Commonwealth Games long jump and came seventh in the European pentathlon championships.
In the 1960 Olympics, she set a British record of 6.33m in the qualifying round, which if repeated, would have won her a silver in the final. In the final she fouled two of the three jumps and finished ninth. She also finished fourth in the 80m hurdles. She won a bronze medal in the European Championship long jump in 1962.
At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, to add to her gold in the long jump, she won a silver medal in the pentathlon (her total of 5035 points putting her in second place in the all-time rankings). She was beaten to the gold medal by Irina Press whose gender has long been the subject of speculation. She also won a bronze as a member of the Great Britain team that finished third in the 4x100 metres relay[3].
Rand was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1965 New Year's Honours List and voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 1964.
In 1966, she won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games long jump. Due to injury, she failed to make the 1968 British Olympic team and decided to retire in September that year.
She was succeeded as the Golden Girl of British athletics by her friend and London Olympiades club-mate, Lillian Board
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