Maryvonne Dupureur

Maryvonne Dupureur was France’s foremost 800 m runner in the 1960s. She won a total of ten French titles between 1959 and 1969, six of them in the 800 m, the others in the 400 m (3) and 1500 m (1). She qualified for three consecutive Olympics, winning a silver medal at the 1964 Games, where she was beaten by Britain’s Ann Packer, who beat Dupureur in the final straight and broke the World Record. In 1968, she once more made the Olympic final, but finished last. Remarkably, Dupureur never made the final of the European Championships, although she did win a silver medal in the 1967 European Indoor Games, the precursor to the European Indoor Championships.

Personal Best: 800 – 2:01.9 (1964).