Shirley Strickland de la Hunty, 78; Won 7 Olympic Medals for Australia

Shirley Strickland de la Hunty, who won Australia’s record of seven Olympic medals for her track performances in the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Games, has died. She was 78.

De la Hunty, who also received the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee for her fundraising efforts on behalf of the Games, died Tuesday of undetermined causes at her home in Perth, Australia.

The sprinter and hurdler known in sports as Shirley Strickland was greatly revered in her country despite a minor scandal in 2001, when she sold her three gold, one silver and three bronze medals and other memorabilia for $400,000.

De la Hunty had donated the medals to the Museum of Western Australian Sport when it was founded in 1985. Fifteen years later, however, she demanded their return, saying she wanted to sell them to help support old-growth forests and to finance her grandchildren’s education.

She said she never regretted selling the medals, although she planned to keep the Olympic Order necklace with Olympic rings flanked by laurel wreaths. De la Hunty received the international award at the 50th anniversary gathering of Australia’s 1952 Olympic team. The honor is bestowed on those who have achieved “remarkable merit in the sporting world or have rendered outstanding services to the Olympic cause, either through personal achievement or to the development of sport.”

“I’ve had replicas made, and they’re much prettier,” she said of the medals in 2002. “It’s the experience that counts -- the medals are trappings, and who cares about the trappings?”

De la Hunty, one of the original six inductees into the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2000, was a torchbearer in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

She made her Olympic debut at London in 1948, winning silver in the 400-meter relay and bronze in the 100-meter and 80-meter hurdles. At Helsinki in 1952, she won the 80-meter hurdles, earning her first gold. She also won a bronze at those Games.

A 31-year-old mother by 1956, she enjoyed her greatest Olympic success at the Melbourne Games -- defending her 80-meter title for a second gold and earning a third gold for the 400-meter relay.

De la Hunty, who also set several Australian and world records, became a teacher of physics and mathematics at Perth Technical College. Later she worked in athletic administration and was a manager with the 1968 and 1976 Australian Olympic teams.

She is survived by four children and 15 grandchildren.