Thread by @Paperclip_In

In the summer of 1952, Mary D’Souza received an unexpected surprise - an invitation to participate in the Olympics. But attending the Olympics seemed to be an impossible task - a meagre salary and being one of 12 children certainly didn't help.

So what happened then?

1/20

On July 21, 1952, in cold Helsinki, a young Mary D’Souza came 9th in the 100-metre sprint for women, clocking a speed of 13.1 seconds. Five days later, on the 26th, in the heats for the 200-metre, Mary clocked a time of 26.3 seconds. 2/20

Fifth from the bottom out of a pool of 38 contenders, it was indeed a commendable outcome for a young 21-year-old participating in the Olympics. After all, a few months ago she was not even sure she was going to make it to Helsinki. 3/20

In a conversation with Journalist & Writer @sohinichat, Mary shared that the letter felt like winning a lottery ticket but the jolt came soon after when a notification, requesting a deposit of Rs 5,000 for the trip, arrived. They didn’t have the money. 4/20

Born into a Catholic family, Mary’s father relocated from Goa to Bandra in Bombay, Maharashtra after he secured a job as a motorman in the railways in 1933. 5/20

Mary was invested in sports from a very young age and she would often watch the boys play hockey at the municipal grounds in Bandra. 6/20

But it was her cousin Maxi Vaz, who, impressed by Mary’s speed following a game of hockey, coaxed her into participating in the 100 and 200 metre sprints. It was the 1950s and back then Roshan Mistry, Banoo Gulzar, and Pat Mendonca dominated the Bombay circuit. 7/20

Mary trained at the Brabourne Ground, doing stretches and similar exercises as the other three did. A year later in 1951, at the Bombay Athletics meet, Mary came second in the 200 metre sprint, prompting her selection for the inaugural Asian Games, where she won the bronze. 8/20

With news of the Olympics doing the rounds, the IOA* went into a tizzy. In fact, a Times of India (TOI) column stated that there was a mad scramble among sports officials to secure a free trip to the Helsinki Olympics. For Mary, though, it still felt like a dream too far. 9/20

She remained pragmatic and started preparing for her new job in Ooty. Then one day, out of the blue, a note arrived from the Bombay State Athletic Association - participants were requested to come and collect their uniforms, and Mary was in for a surprise. 10/20

Along with her uniform and gear, there was a ticket to Europe; the association was going to pay for all expenses and would even halt at Copenhagen for several weeks so that the entire contingent could train there. Mary was ecstatic in her own stoic way. 11/20

Helsinki felt like a dream. The Games village was neat and tidy, and the overall arrangement was overwhelming, to say the least. On 19th July, just a day after Mary’s birthday, she walked into Helsinki Olympic Stadium as part of India’s Olympic contingent. 12/20

It was only the second time that India had sent its athletes to the summer games (except for the men’s hockey team which was on the path of glory) and little was anticipated from the others. 13/20

The contingent returned with one gold for the men’s hockey team and a bronze for K.D. Jadhav in wrestling. The TOI’s gossip column termed India’s performance in Helsinki as ‘comic-opera exploits’. For Mary, however, it was a watershed moment in her life. 14/20

She refused the job at Ooty and plunged headlong into sports. Not long after, the Tata’s roped her in and offered her a job at the Taj Mahal hotel in Bombay. Mary would work till lunch then change into her gear and head into training. 15/20

She went on to become one of India’s best female athletes from the mid-1950s well into the 60s. From 1952-1956 she was the fastest female sprinter and a dominant hockey player, known for her terrific speed and exuberant attacking game. 16/20

At the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, Mary led the Indian women's team to victory, securing gold for the nation. Sadly, Mary couldn’t participate in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne due to miscommunication and budget constraints, something she rues even till today. 17/20

Though she gave up sprinting in 1957, she continued to play hockey till 1968. In 2013, she was awarded the Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games. 18/20

Just before the summer games in 1952 an evening of card games and dance was set up by Mary’s friend Vincy D’Mello to raise money to cover for her expenses in Helsinki. Mary fondly remembers the evening during which the sum of Rs 300 was later handed to her by D’Mello. 19/20

It serves as an ode perhaps to all the little things and sacrifices people make for their loved ones to see their dreams turn into tangible achievements. 20/20

Source - The Day I Became a Runner: A Women's History of India through the Lens of Sport by @sohinichat, for more stories like this one you can collect the book from here amazon.in/Day-Became-Run…

Image attributes: ; @WikiCommons

Notes - IOA stands for Indian Olympic association.goenchimathi.wordpress.com