Former Olympic star, 58, found by husband
Donna Hartley, the former ‘golden girl’ of British athletics, has died suddenly while sunbathing in her garden.
Golden girl: Donna Hartley graced the cover of
fitness magazines during her bodybuilding heyday in the late 1980s
(left). She way pictured early this year (right) before her 58th
birthday
Yesterday her devastated husband
Bobby Knutt, an actor and comedian, said a post mortem will be carried
out today, but she ‘might have died of a heart attack.’Golden girl:
Donna Hartley had a successful career on the British body building
circuit after retiring from athletics
Mr Knutt, who met his wife at Butlins, said: ‘We were married 26 years and we had never had a row or cross word.
The 58-year-old former 400 metres runner was found lying on a sun lounger in a bikini, by her husband on Friday afternoon.
Her
shoulder-length blonde hair and prowess on the track earned her the
‘golden girl’ tag during a glittering running career in which she won
bronze in the 1980 Olympic Games.
'She was the great love of my life. Nobody will ever take her place.
‘She
was the kindest person in the world. Everybody loved her and nobody had
a bad word to say about her. She was an absolute princess.
‘I’ve
lost my best pal, she hadn’t got a bad thought in her head. I never
heard her criticise anybody and she was so good and kind.’
The
talented runner originally became well known under her maiden name
Murray and her distinctive looks made her an instantly recognisable
figure.
She won double gold
in the 400m and 4x400m relay at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in
Edmonton, Canada, and the following year was made an MBE by the Queen.
But the highlight of her career was her bronze medal in the 400m relay at the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980.
Champion: Donna Hartley won a bronze medal in
the 4x400m relay at the Moscow Olympics (left). She was awarded an MBE
in 1979 (right)
Amazonian: Donna Hartley was famed for her athletic good looks. She died while sun bathing in a bikini on Friday afternoon
Donna married fellow athlete Bill
Hartley in 1977, but the relationship ended in divorce. She met TV actor
Bobby Knutt in 1984 and they married three years later.
Donna took her husband’s real surname Wass and moved to live in his native Sheffield.
After retiring from athletics she became a champion body builder and won the ‘Miss Britain Physique’ title.
She later ran a line dancing school in the city and had been working as a hotel leisure club manager when she died.
A
self-confessed sun worshipper, she returned home early from work on
Friday to soak up the rays in her garden and make the most of the fine
June weather.
Mr Knutt, 67,
said they went outside together at about 3pm and he returned inside to
watch television about half-an-hour later. When he went back out some
time later to speak to his wife she was dead.
‘I
went out to see her and she had gone. I don’t know what happened, she
might have had a heart attack.’ The couple have no children but Mr Knutt
has a daughter from a previous marriage.
Fit and healthy: Donna Hartley led keep-fit classes near her home in Sheffield
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