She competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, held in London, in the 100 metres where she won the silver medal with a time of 12.2 seconds.

[3] She was originally accepted for the Olympics as a high jumper, but her coach told her she wouldn't make the grade and trained her to be a sprinter in just five months.

She was working full-time during 1948 for the Suez Canal Company as a typist,[1] and used her summer holidays to attend the games although the leave was unpaid by her employer.

[citation needed] She qualified for the women's 100 metres final, and finished in second place, winning the silver medal in her first international athletics event.

[3] At the 1950 British Empire Games in New Zealand, she was asked after arrival if she would like to compete in the high jump – only then finding out that she had been entered in the event without her knowledge.

With minimal training in the time available, she competed in the event and finished in fourth position behind Dorothy Tyler, Bertha Crowther and Noelene Swinton.