THE brother of a 1940s Olympic athlete, who missed out on a gold medal by just two inches of track, says he is proud people are remembering her.

Maureen Gardner, from Cowley, Oxford, won a silver medal in the 80m hurdles at the 1948 London Olympics.

But last month, residents told the Oxford Mail they feared she had been forgotten by history. They launched a campaign to reignite memories of the city’s Olympian.

Last night, her younger brother Michael Gardner, 79, said he was ecstatic to see his sister’s story featured in the paper.

He said: “It was very nice and flattering to hear people talking about Maureen. She has been forgotten, but it was one hell of a thing at that time. At her wedding, the streets were thronged with people. And quite rightly so.”

Miss Gardner married her coach Geoffrey Dyson at St Mary Magdalen Church, Oxford, in 1948, following the London Games.

Former Temple Cowley pupil Miss Gardner was 20 when she competed at Wembley and was just pipped to the post by ‘Dutch housewife’ Fanny Blankers-Koen.

The two both smashed the previous world record at 11.2 seconds, but it was decided the Dutch competitor had won by two inches.

Mr Gardner, from Woodstock, said: “She wasn’t at all disappointed after getting the silver medal. We were there at Wembley to see her and along with everyone else, we thought she’d won.

“It was decided the other girl must just have had a bigger bust!”

Upon her return, Miss Gardner, who was also a ballet dancer and teacher, was given a hero’s welcome to the city.

Mr Gardner said: “She was a bit of a heroine, an exceptional person, and not just because of the athletics.

“She was multi- talented, she could play the piano, she was a ballet dancer and just before she be-came ill, she was the chief examiner of the Royal School of Ballet.”

Miss Gardner gave up athletics when she became pregnant for the second time. She and husband eventually emigrated to Canada.

She died in 1974, aged just 45, of breast cancer. She would now be a grandmother-of-four.

Locals hope to get a blue plaque installed on her house in Maidcroft Road.

Resident Pat Mabbutt said: “I lived next door to Maureen for 14 years.

“My proudest moment was when she and Geoffrey Dyson married, we were bridesmaids. The streets were lined as we went by in the car to the reception. It was shown on Pathe news.”

Woodstock resident Ann Cooper added: “It was amazing when Maureen was in the Olympics. She was a lass of the people, she came from Oxford and she was a real local hero.”