Mary Rand, first British woman to win Olympic athletics gold, dies aged 86

• Rand won gold, silver and bronze medals at Tokyo 1964

• Mary Peters pays tribute to ‘most gifted athlete ever’

Mary Rand, the British track and field athlete who blazed a trail for women by winning three Olympic medals at the Tokyo Games in 1964, has died at the age of 86.

Rand was one of the giants of her sport: the epitome of speed, power and grace. Her long jump victory in Tokyo made her Britain’s first female Olympic gold medallist in athletics, and she followed it up with a silver in the pentathlon and a bronze in the 4x100m relay.