Barbara Hannah Anita Burke (born 13 May 1917) is a British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 former track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete who competed mainly in the sprints and hurdles.

She was born in Norwood, Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

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Burke competed for Great Britain in the 1936 Summer Olympics

1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

 held in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 where she won the silver medal in the 4×100 metres with her team mates Eileen Hiscock

Eileen Hiscock

Eileen May Hiscock, née Tumble, later Wilson, was an English athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics...

, Violet Olney

Violet Olney

Violet Rose Olney was an English athlete from Southwark, London, who mainly competed in the 100 metres....

 and Audrey Brown

Audrey Brown

Audrey Kathleen Kilner Brown MBE was a British athlete who mainly competed in the 100 metres.She was born in India and was the younger sister of Ralph Kilner Brown and older sister of Godfrey Brown....

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At the British Empire Games she competed for South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. In 1934 she was a member of the South African relay team which finished fourth in the 110-220-110 yards contest. In the 100 yards competition as well as in the 220 yards event she was eliminated in the heats. Four years later Burke won the 80 metres hurdles contest at the 1938 Games. In the 100 yards sprint she finished fourth and the 220 yards event she finished fifth.