Mary D'Souza

Despite facing obstacles in communal support and financing, Mary D’Souza took part in track athletics and had her first major success representing India abroad at the 1951 Asian Games. There, she took bronze in the 200 metres and silver in the 4x100 metres relay with the non-Olympians Roshan Mistry, Banoo Gulzar, and Pat Mendonca. She then competed in the 100 and 200 metres events at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, but was eliminated in the first round of each. Her greatest success came at the 1954 Asian Games, where she captured gold in the relay alongside Stephie D’Souza and the non-Olympians Christine Brown and Violet Peters. She was also selected for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, but could not attend due to a lack of government funds.

Concurrent with her athletics career, D’Souza also played field hockey at the international level. Her career in this sport lasted longer than athletics as well, with her representing India from 1953 through 1964. By career she worked as a Sports Officer with Indian Railways.

Personal Bests: 100 – 12.3 (1954); 200 – 25.7 (1956).