Mary Tracey-Purcell was the dominant figure in Irish women’s distance running between 1971 and 1983 and competed in the women’s 800 metres and 1,500 metres at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, finishing 4th in her 800m heat (2:04.2) and setting a new national record of 4:16.4 in the 1,500 metres.

Her elevation to Olympic level was extraordinary: she made her track debut as a twenty-year-old at the Guinness Sports meeting in 1971, finishing 3rd in the 200m, and within a year had won the WAAA 800m title and achieved the Munich qualifying time of 2:04.2 on a ‘bleak June night at Santry Stadium.’

She completed a six-week altitude training programme at St Moritz before Munich, funded by the weekly contributions of her fellow employees at Leo Laboratories. Her 4:16.4 national record in the 1,500 metres at the Games was a further marker of her rapid progress in the sport.