Betty Judge-Beazley is a former Australian athletics champion at 880 yards. She coached the Olympic champion Shirley Strickland and is the mother of Kim Beazley, a former deputy Prime Minister of Australia.
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Judge's athletics career spanned from 1939 to 1947. She set two national records for 880 yards. She ran the time of 2:24.7 (a world record) in 1940 and, in 1947, reduced this to 2:24.2.[1]
In the national championships, at Perth in 1940, Judge won the 880-yd event and was placed second in the 440-yd sprint.[2]
In a 1941 330-yd race, her time of 39.9 sec was later considered to be a world's best time.[3]
Betty Judge was the first coach of Olympic champion Shirley Strickland,[4] who set at least two world records and won seven Olympic Games medals. From 1948 to 1952, as Betty Beazley, she was president of the Australian Women's Amateur Athletics Union.[3]
Judge married Australian politician Kim Edward Beazley on 7 February 1948.[5]
Although the two had known each other at Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia, a chance meeting at a church function sparked their whirlwind courtship and marriage.[6]
They had three children, Kim Christian Beazley (who became Deputy Prime Minister of Australia), Merrilyn Wasson and David Beazley.[6]