Elenor Gordon

Elenor Gordon
Gordon at the 1950 British Empire Games
Personal information
Full name Helen Orr Gordon
Nickname(s) "Elenor"
National team  Great Britain
Born (1933-05-10)10 May 1933
Hamilton, Scotland[1]
Died 5 July 2014(2014-07-05) (aged 81)
Wishaw, Scotland
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Breaststroke
Club Hamilton Baths

Helen Orr "Elenor" Gordon (later McKay; 10 May 1933 – 5 July 2014) was a Scottish breaststroke swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics, and Scotland at the 1950 and 1954 British Empire Games. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the 200-metre breaststroke in 1952 and three gold medals at the British Empire Games.[1]

Gordon learnt to swim at Hamilton Baths, where her father worked as a lifeguard. From 1947 until 1957 she was the Scottish champion in the 200-metre breaststroke. In 1948, aged 15, she was the youngest member of the 1948 British Olympic team. In 1950 she received the Nancy Riach memorial medal for her services to swimming. She retired from competitions after the 1956 Olympics to raise a family. Besides, the Scottish Swimming Association revoked her amateur status after she accepted a 5-pound fee for a television appearance. She resumed competing in the 1990s, as a master swimmer, winning world titles and setting world records. Towards the end of her life she was confined to a wheelchair due to a degenerative spinal condition.[1] Gordon was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. She died on 5 July 2014 from natural causes at the age of 81.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Elenor Gordon-McKay. sports-reference.com
  2. ↑ "Death of Elenor Gordon, Scotland's greatest female Commonwealth Games competitor". Scottish Herald. 9 July 2014.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.