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.
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
Mr Knutt, who met his wife at Butlins, said: ‘We were married 26 years and we had never had a row or cross word.
'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 took her husband’s real surname Wass and moved to live in his native Sheffield.
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