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French middle distance running heroine Maryvonne Dupureur (née Samson) died on Monday at the age of 70.
Born on 24 May 1937 in Saint-Brieux, France, Dupureur was Olympic 800m silver medallist in Tokyo 1964 being passed by Ann Packer of Britain on the home stretch in a race which ended with World record of 2:01.1. Dupureur finished 5 metres behind in 2:01.9.
After a career break to start a family Dupureur returned to the sport and was an 800m finalist in the Mexico 1968 Olympics where she finished 8th. She won 10 French national titles from 1959 to 1969 and held 9 French records from 400m to 1500m.
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