A double Olympic silver medallist who competed in front of Hitler aged just 16 will officially begin the London Marathon.

Dorothy Tyler, 92, from Sanderstead, has been chosen to begin the annual race, which with about 20,000 runners is one of the biggest in the world, on Sunday April 22.

Awarded with an MBE in 2002, Mrs Tyler was handed this latest honour in recognition of her achievements as an athlete, winning the High Jump silver medal at the 1936 and 1948 Olympic Games.

Competing as a 16-year-old in the Munich Olympics, she went on to be the only female athlete to compete in Olympics pre and port war.

Learning her craft at Mitcham Athletics Club as a school girl, she quickly showed signs of her prodigious talent, and using the pre-fosbury flop technique of the scissor jump, clearing 1.60 metres in 1935, only 5cm off the world record.

Although denied Olympic gold, she went onto break the world record in May 1939 with a height of 1.66m The London Marathon begins at Greenwich Park, the mass race begins at 10am.