Margaret Maughan facts for kids
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| Born | 19 June 1928 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 May 2020 (aged 91) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Margaret Maughan (born 19 June 1928, died 20 May 2020) was a British athlete. She was amazing at archery, dartchery (a mix of darts and archery), and lawn bowls. Margaret made history by becoming Britain's very first gold medalist at the Paralympic Games. She won a total of four gold and two silver medals during her career. A special moment was when she lit the cauldron at the Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
Contents
Early Life and Becoming an Athlete
Margaret Maughan grew up in Lancashire, England. She was one of four children, and her father worked as a miner. Before she became a famous athlete, Margaret was a science teacher.
In 1959, Margaret was in a car accident in Nyasaland (which is now Malawi). This accident meant she could no longer walk. After two months in a hospital there, she came back to Britain. She was treated at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. This hospital was special because Dr. Ludwig Guttmann believed in using sport to help people recover from spinal injuries.
At Stoke Mandeville, Margaret started playing archery. She even joined an archery club. The hospital was also where the Stoke Mandeville Games began. These games were for wheelchair athletes and later became the Paralympic Games. Margaret said that archery helped her keep her balance while in her wheelchair. She competed in the National Wheelchair Games in 1960. Before her accident, Margaret didn't think of herself as a "sporty" person at all!
Margaret's Paralympic Journey
Margaret was chosen to be part of the British team for the Ninth Stoke Mandeville Games. These games are now known as the First Summer Paralympic Games, held in Rome in 1960.
Winning Gold in Rome (1960)
Margaret competed in one archery event, the Women's Columbia Round open. She scored 484 points and won Britain's first-ever Paralympic gold medal! There was a bit of confusion with the scores, so she had to be called back from the bus to get her prize.
Margaret also took part in swimming. She competed in the Women's 50 metre backstroke. She was the only person in her race, so she won by finishing the 50 metres. Her time was 1 minute and 49.2 seconds.
Traveling to the Games was quite an adventure back then. Things like wheelchair ramps were not common. Margaret and her teammates were moved onto the plane using forklift trucks! Once in Rome, Italian soldiers had to carry them up and down stairs to their rooms. When Margaret received her archery medal, the podium had ramps so athletes could reach it easily. After the Games, Margaret and her wheelchair had to travel in the guard's van on the train back home.
Later Paralympic Games
Margaret did not compete in the 1964 Games. However, she returned for the 1968 Summer Paralympics in Tel Aviv. She took part in two archery events, finishing fourth and fifth.
At the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, Margaret competed in archery again. She also tried dartchery (a sport combining darts and archery) with her teammate, M. Cooper. They won the gold medal in the Women's Pairs open!
Margaret tried even more sports at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto. In dartchery, she and M. Cooper won a silver medal. She also competed in lawn bowls. In the Women's Pairs event, she and her teammate F. Nowak won a silver medal.
For her fifth and final Paralympic Games, the 1980 Summer Paralympics, Margaret focused only on lawn bowls. She teamed up with R. Thompson in the Women's Pairs event. They won her last gold medal, beating teams from Malta and another British pair.
After Her Sports Career
After she stopped competing, Margaret Maughan became a coach at the Stoke Mandeville club. She had a very special role at the 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony in London. She was the very last person to carry the Paralympic Flame. Then, she lit the cauldron, officially opening the Games!
Margaret Maughan passed away on 20 May 2020, at the age of 91. Nick Webborn, who leads the British Paralympic Association, said that her long life showed how important Dr. Ludwig Guttmann's work was. He helped people with spinal cord injuries live full and happy lives through sport.
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