The Throwback: Australia's Golden Girl Betty Cuthbert

Elizabeth Elise Cuthbert was born on the 20th of April 1938, a shy young girl who had no idea she was destined to shine on the global stage.

I more or less never had stuck my head outside the back door at 18.

I had mixed with people.

I was a family girl.

I stayed at home.

At 18, a kid of 18 today is quite different to a kid of our age.

Well, I was anyway.

A lot of us at our age didn't have confidence to speak like they do today and going out and driving cars and things like that.

Betty always loved to run.

Well, I knew I could run from a very, very early age because I used to win the picnic sports at school.

I used to win all those.

And then the primary school had combined championships, state championships, and I won the state championship from the 8th more or less to 12th.

But I still didn't know about being coached or having a club, athletic club or anything like that until I was 13.

That shy young girl had no idea how good until she met the teacher who would go on to become her coach, June Ferguson.

She was a phys ed teacher and the very first time she said, I'd like to coach you and Mari.

She said, you go home and ask your mother.

and she said I'll come home and June came to mum and asked mum and mum said oh I don't like the girls being out late at night but June said I'll bring them home so that's how it started I didn't know anything that's how young we were in those days we couldn't do anything very much

Betty credits her success to her fierce rivalry with friend and fellow competitor Marlene Matthews.

She was my main opposition because we constantly ran against her in club sports.

And gradually I could see myself, I suppose with strength and age, I was gradually gaining on her.

And it wasn't until six months before the Olympics I won the 100 yards where she always used to beat me.

No, the 200 I should say.

And then, oh, only about six weeks before the Olympic Games, I won the 100 over.