Jennie Fletcher

Jennie Fletcher (19 March 1890 – 17 January 1968), later known by her married name Jennie Hyslop, was a British competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, and former world record-holder. In 1905 she set a new world record in the 100-yard freestyle that stood for seven years.[1] She was selected for the 1908 Olympics, but the women's swimming events were cancelled due to a shortage of participants. [2] At the 1912 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the individual 100-metre freestyle race.[3] In 1971 she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer".[4]

Jennie Fletcher
Jennie Fletcher, c. 1905
Personal information
Full nameJennie Fletcher
National team Great Britain
Born(1890-03-19)19 March 1890
Belgrave, Leicester, England
Died17 January 1968(1968-01-17) (aged 77)
Teeswater, Ontario, Canada
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubLeicester Ladies SC

Fletcher was born in an underprivileged family of 11 siblings and had to combine swimming with daily 12-hour work.[4] In 1913 she began teaching swimming in Leicester, which ended her competitive career as she turned from an amateur into a professional. In 1917, she married and immigrated to Canada, where she gave birth to a daughter and five sons.[5][6]

Belle Moore, Jennie Fletcher, Annie Speirs, and Irene Steer at the 1912 Olympics

See also

References
  1. Timeline of Women's Swimming History Archived 29 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine. International Swimming Hall of Fame
  2. "Jennie Fletcher". Swimming.org.
  3. Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Jennie Fletcher Archived 29 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  4. International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Jennie Fletcher (GBR). Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  5. "Champion swimmer finally honoured", BBC.com (14 December 2004). Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  6. "Leicester's Olympian honoured . . . 100 years after her triumph", Leicester Mercury (24 March 2012). Retrieved 17 March 2015.
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