Pioneering not a pioneer

Vera Searle (nee Palmer) died this week at the age of 97. Not many will know Vera Searle but she broke the world record for the women's 250 metres in 1923 and was later a leading force in the introduction of women into the Olympic Games at a time when it was not only unfashionable but impudent and `dangerous.'

Hardline opposition at the time held that female competitors would be `leaving their womanhood behind on the track" and that it would prejudice their chances of having children. Distances of more than 800 metres were deemed "too strenuous" while the shot putt was "totally unsuited to the women's frame."

While we may laugh at the chauvinistic attitude of that time, we should remember that the arguments currently being put forward to prevent women from boxing have exactly the same tone and are equally devoid of scientific back-up, except of course that boxing can cause brain damage to everyone.

Incidentally, Searle received an award from Guinness on her 80th birthday for a lifetime's consumption of 55,000 pints. And she requested that her ashes be cast into the Liffey as she had consumed so much of it during her lifetime.