Olympian Thelma Hopkins passes away aged 88.

Hopkins competed in the 1952 and the 1956 Olympics, becoming the 1956 high jump silver medalist, who also secured Empire Games gold for Northern Ireland and held the world record at the time. 

Hopkins, who lived in Canada for many years, died in Edmonton on January 10th 2025. Born in Kingston Upon Hull in 1936, she moved to Northern Ireland and made her mark in athletics from a young age. At just 15, she claimed her first Northern Ireland senior title in 1951, winning both the high jump and long jump.

In 1954, Hopkins won high jump gold and long jump silver at the Empire Games in Vancouver while representing Northern Ireland. Later that same summer, she claimed the high jump title for Great Britain at the European Championships in Bern.

On May 5, 1956, Hopkins broke the world high jump record with a leap of 1.74 meters at the Cherryvale Playing Fields in Belfast. Six months later, at the age of 20, she earned an Olympic silver medal in Melbourne as part of the Great Britain team.

A versatile athlete, Hopkins also represented Ireland in international hockey, earning 40 caps, and competed in squash. She was teammates with Maeve Kyle, another multi-sport star who enjoyed a successful athletics career.

In 2006, at the age of 70, Hopkins returned to the Cherryvale Playing Fields for the unveiling of a plaque commemorating her world record achievement. Her long jump record of 6.11 meters, set in 1956, stood as Northern Ireland’s best until it was surpassed in 2013.