Olympic Medalist. She was a pioneering female track and field athlete, during a time when female athletes did not receive much recognition in this category. She was a high jumper who captured 14 British national titles over a long career. She shall be remembered as the first British female to capture an individual Olympic Silver medal and as the only lady of any nationality to do so both before and after World War II. Born Dorothy Jennifer Beatrice Odam, she was essentially self-trained but by her mid-teens was competing for England in the high jump. At the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, she took a Silver Medal, though she received little publicity back home as girls had only been allowed in the Games since 1928 and were still considered essentially a sideshow. She captured Gold at the 1938 British Empire Games, set a world record at 5'5" in 1939, married Richard Tyler in 1940, and served as a driver in the Royal Air Force during World War II. At the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, England she again took Silver, then earned Gold in the 1950 British Empire Games. She failed to medal in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland and at the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, though she did win a final Silver Medal in the 1954 Empire Games. Following retirement, she was a coach of note, breaking ground by introducing ballet techniques to the high jump. A feared golfer in her later years, she was named Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2001 and in 2012 was the official starter for the Marathon at the London Olympics; eventually slowed by a series of strokes, she died following a protracted illness. Her fame not only came from her Olympic medals but also from being a pioneering female in track and field.