A Pearl

[DoubleRBar]

Happy 82nd birthday today (Tuesday) to an Olympic champion who won two Olympic gold medals in the same event.

Those Olympic gold medals did not involve any hurdles.

The first of those two Olympic gold medals was a world record while the second gold medal equaled the world mark.

Can you believe that our birthday athlete won Olympic gold as a teenager?

Both of these Olympic gold medals were won in Europe.

During our birthday athlete's second Olympic Games, this individual competed in two events, but won gold only in one of those two events.

This champion grew up in one of the largest cities in a certain country.

Twenty-four years after our birthday athlete first won Olympic gold, another athlete, with the same initials as our birthday person, won Olympic gold, but not in the same event, however both athletes came from the same country.

Can you name our birthday athlete for this last Tuesday of March? Please try. It won't cost you a thing.

[Olli]

Can you believe that our birthday athlete won Olympic gold as a teenager?

Both of these Olympic gold medals were won in Europe.

Actually, I cannot believe. If this person was born in 1937, the only Olympics in Europe where he/she might have won as a teenager were in Helsinki 1952. But do not believe any 15-year-old won then.

Or have I misunderstood something?

[bambam1729]

Barbara Pearl Jones - Olli's question got it for me - she was a relay member in 1952 when she was only 15 - and Pearl goes with the clue. She won another relay gold at Rome in 1960. She's the youngest ever T&F Olympic gold medalist.

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today to Barbara Pearl Jones and very good, bambam1729. Yes, Barbara Jones was not even 16 years old when she won her first Olympic gold medal in 1952 (Helsinki). Barbara ran the second leg on the winning four by 100 relay which set a new world record of 45.9.

Eight years later in Rome, Jones ran the third leg (she's the one who gave the baton to Wilma Rudolph) on the winning four by 100 relay which tied the world mark of 44.5. She also ran the 100 in Rome (1960), but did not make final in the 100.

[Olli]

OK, I was wrong in an interesting way. Thanks for this bit of Olympic history.

[Olli]

Twenty-four years after our birthday athlete first won Olympic gold, another athlete, with the same initials as our birthday person, won Olympic gold, but not in the same event, however both athletes came from the same country.

This will be Bruce Jenner, probably. It might have been a bit ambiguous if you had written "of the same gender."

[DoubleRBar]

I didn't want to go there.