Margaret McDowall (sprinter)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | Margaret Morie McDowall 1920 Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Died | 1987 (aged 66–67) Kingston-upon-Hull, England |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Sprints |
| Club | Ardeer & Kilmarnock Harriers |
Margaret Morie McDowall[1] (1920–1987) was a British sprinter who competed at the 1938 Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games). She was Scotland's sole female athletics competitor and only one of two Scottish women at the Games.[2]
Biography
Margaret Morie McDowall was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1920.[3][4] Known as Peggy in he younger years, she was educated at Auchenharvie Academy and trained by Mr Agnew and made her athletic debut on 4 July 1935 and within the first year of competition won the Ardeer Sports meeting, Maryhill Sports meeting and Rothesay Highland Games and was described as an athletic prodigy.[5]
McDowall ran for the Ardeer & Kilmarnock Harriers.[6]
She became the Scottish 100 yards champion at the Scottish Athletics Championships and in August 1937 she set a Scottish record over 100 yards recording 11.1 sec,[7] which led to selection for the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Australia.[8]
McDowall duly represented Scotland at the 1938 British Empire Games in the 100 yards and 220 yards, reaching the semi-final of the latter.[9] At the time of the 1938 Games she was still in full-time education and lived at 5 Sandhills in Stevenston, North Ayrshire.[3]
After the Games she continued to race[10] until the outbreak of World War II, taking part in a meeting on 27 May 1939, being given a half yard handicap ahead of Lily Hunter, who had usurped her Scottish title.[11]
McDowall married Stewart Wilson Third in Scotland in 1944.[12] She died in Kingston-upon-Hull, England in 1987.[13]
References
- ^ middle name commonly transcribed incorrectly as Monie or Marie
- ^ "Scotland Sydney 1938". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ a b "UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, Brisbane to London Arrival - 1 Apr 1938". Ancestry. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ "Margaret Morie McDowall". Scotland's People. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "Ardeer's Athletic Prodigy". Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette. 11 July 1936. Retrieved 28 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Among the Footballers". Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette. 25 December 1937. Retrieved 28 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "40,000 See Lovelock's Time Beaten". Reynolds's Newspaper. 8 August 1937. Retrieved 28 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Miss McDowall's Record". Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette. 8 August 1937. Retrieved 28 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Records mark opening of Empire Games". Birmingham Weekly Mercury. 6 February 1938. Retrieved 28 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Miss McDowall's Fine Sprinting". Midlothian Advertiser. 25 December 1937. Retrieved 28 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Monkland Harriers Sports". Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. 8 August 1937. Retrieved 28 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Margaret Morie McDowall marriage". Scotland's People. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
- ^ "Margaret Morie Third b. 1920". GRO Index. Retrieved 15 March 2026.