Anne Brunell
Australian gold medal winning swimmer, and Vice President of the Amputees Association.
Category Archives: Sports > Swimming
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Fanny Durack
In 1912, Fanny Durack became the first Australian woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
Helen Johns
Helen Johns won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics at just 17.
Rose Pitonof
At 15, she won the Boston Light Swim, setting a new record. The seven men she was competing with all dropped out before the finish line. She later appeared in a vaudeville act during which she gave swimming and diving lessons in a portable tank.
Helene Madison
Between 1930 and 1932, Seattle swimmer Helene Madison owned 23 world records for swimming and won every freestyle event at the U.S. Women’s Nationals three years in a row. Madison won three consecutive gold medals in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
Gertrude Ederle
Olympic champion, world record holder and the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
Mercedes Gleitze
On 6 April 1928, this pioneering female swimmer became the first person to swim the 8 mile Straits of Gibraltar.
Joyce Cooper
Joyce Cooper remains to this day one of the most decorated female swimmers Britain has ever produced.
Harriet Elphinstone-Dick
On the 9 September 1875, in rough open water Harriet Elphinstone-Dick swam seven miles from Shoreham Harbour to Brighton’s West Pier. She completed the distance in a record making 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was regarded as one of the greatest swimming feats of the time.
Katerina Nēhua
In March 1931 Nēhua entered an open sea endurance competition at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. Later in the month at the city’s Balmoral Baths she broke the world record with a swim of 72 hours 9 minutes. She went on to break her world record in May 1931 at Brisbane’s municipal baths, swimming for 72 hours 21 minutes.