Esther Brand
Esther Brand at the 1952 Olympics | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 29 September 1922 Springbok, Northern Cape, South Africa | |||||||||||
| Died | 20 June 2015 (aged 92) Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
| Event(s) | High jump, discus throw | |||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | HJ – 1.67 m (1952) DT – 40.30 m(1952) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Esther Cornelia Brand (née van Heerden; 29 September 1922 – 20 June 2015) was a South African athlete. She competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal in the high jump, placed 20th in the discus throw. She was the first African woman to win an Olympic track and field event. Brand was ranked world #1 in the high jump in 1940–41 and 1952, #3 in 1951 and #5 in 1939. In 1941 she equaled the world record of 1.66 m.
Born in Springbok, Northern Cape, she attended Maitland High School in Cape Town, South Africa. She died after a fall in 2015.