Elenor Gordon

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]

Elenor Gordon
Gordon at the 1950 British Empire Games
Personal information
Full nameHelen Orr Gordon
Nickname(s)"Elenor"
National team Great Britain
Born(1933-05-10)10 May 1933
Hamilton, Scotland[1]
Died5 July 2014(2014-07-05) (aged 81)
Wishaw, Scotland
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
ClubHamilton Baths

Early life

Gordon was born in Glasgow. She learnt to swim at Hamilton Baths, where her father Gavin Gordon worked as a lifeguard. She was also part of the swimming team coached by David Crabb at the Motherwell Baths.[2]

Swimming career

From 1947 until 1957 Gordon 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 1949 she competed in the British Empire Games in New Zealand.[2] In 1950 she received the Nancy Riach memorial medal for her services to swimming. She won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the only British medalist in swimming. In 1954, she won two medals at the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver.[2]

At the ASA National British Championships she won the 220 yards breaststroke title five times in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955 and 1956.[3][4][5][6][7]

Gordon retired from competitions after the 1956 Summer 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.[8]

Personal life

Elenor Gordon married fellow swimmer Ken McKay. They had two sons, Colin and Allan. She was a secretary and a sport reporter, covering swimming for two Scottish newspapers.[8] Towards the end of her life, Gordon used a wheelchair due to a degenerative spinal condition.[1] Gordon was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003,[9] and into the Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame in 2010.[10] She died on 5 July 2014 from natural causes at the age of 81, in Wishaw.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. Elenor Gordon-McKay. sports-reference.com
  2. Thomson, Robert (17 October 2014). "Elenor Gordon wins first Scottish Commonwealth gold 1950". BBC - A Sporting Nation. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. ""Swimming." Times, 31 July 1950, p. 7". Times Digital Archive.
  4. ""Swimming." Times, 27 Aug. 1951, p. 8". Times Digital Archive.
  5. ""Swimming." Times, 27 Sept. 1952, p. 9". Times Digital Archive.
  6. ""British Swimming Best Since War." Times, 5 Sept. 1955, p. 13". Times Digital Archive.
  7. ""Olympic Swimming Selections." Times, 10 Sept. 1956, p. 12". Times Digital Archive.
  8. Vallance, Matt (11 July 2014). "Obituary: Helen Orr "Elenor" Gordon-McKay, Olympic swimmer". The Scotsman. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  9. "Elenor Gordon". Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  10. "Elenor Gordon: Scotland's first female Commonwealth Games champion has died". Scottish Swimming. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  11. "Death of Elenor Gordon, Scotland's greatest female Commonwealth Games competitor". Scottish Herald. 9 July 2014.
  12. "Helen Orr 'Elenor ' Gordon". The Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
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