Big read: ‘Just call me Mary P’ - Mary Peters celebrates 50 years of Olympic gold medal glory

Lady Mary Peters — with her trademark broad smile on display — recalls the night before she was due to fly out to Munich, which in the Cold War era was in West Germany, to compete at the 1972 Summer Olympics. She’s sitting in a small and unused office, located in a building next to the track, on the outskirts of south Belfast, that bears her name. Sitting up straight, she explains that she was in the company of journalists, including the late legendary Belfast Telegraph sports journalist, Malcolm Brodie, and was asked how well did she think she was going to perform in the pentathlon. “I’m going to win the gold,” she replied. In return, she was met with raised eyebrows and sideways, sceptical glances.