Margaret McDowall (sprinter)

Margaret Marie McDowall (born c. 1920)^[1] was a British sprinter who competed at the 1938 Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games). She was Scotland's sole female athletics competitor and only one of two Scottish women at the Games.^[2]

Known as Peggy in he younger years, she was educated at Auchenharvie Academy and trained by Mr Agnew and made her athletic debut on 4 July 1935 and within the first year of competition won the Ardeer Sports meeting, Maryhill Sports meeting and Rothesay Highland Games and was described as an athletic prodigy.^[3]

McDowall ran for the Ardeer & Kilmarnock Harriers.^[4]

She became the Scottish 100 yards champion at the Scottish Athletics Championships and in August 1937 she set a Scottish record over 100 yards recording 11.1 sec,^[5] which led to selection for the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Australia.^[6]

She duly represented Scotland at the 1938 British Empire Games in the 100 yards and 220 yards, reaching the semi-final of the latter.^[7] At the time of the 1938 Games she was still in full-time education and lived at 5 Sandhills in Stevenston, North Ayrshire.^[1]

After the Games she continued to race^[8] until the outbreak of World War II, taking part in a meeting on 27 May 1939, being given a half yard handicap ahead of Lily Hunter, who had usurped her Scottish title.^[9]