By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
Joan Harrison, South Africa’s first Olympic swimming gold medalist, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 89. Her death was announced on the “Swimming History of Southern Africa” Facebook page.
Harrison was born on November 29, 1935, in East London, Cape Province, in what is now the Eastern Cape, South Africa. She was affiliated with the Springbok swimming team, was guided throughout her career by Bunny Clark, and specialized in freestyle, backstroke, and individual medley events.
By the age of 13, Harrison held three South African junior and two senior national records. That same year, she won national titles in the 220- and 500-yard freestyle events.
In 1950, at 14, she competed at the British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, where she won the gold medal in the 440-yard freestyle. She broke the Games record by 13 seconds and finished seven seconds ahead of the rest of the field. She was named the Outstanding Woman Swimmer of the Games.
At the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Harrison won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 1:14.30, becoming the first South African swimmer to win Olympic gold. It would be another 44 years before another South African woman, Penny Heyns, claimed Olympic gold in the pool.
In a recent interview with SwimHistory.co.za, Harrison said she went into the Games prepared but never imagined walking away with gold, saying, “I did not put too much pressure on myself. I was not the favourite, the girl from Holland [Geertje Wielema] was. Team South Africa was made up of more than 80 people and I was the only female swimmer.”
She added, “People made a fuss about it. But my life did not really change. I was still an ordinary girl from East London. When we arrived back in the city there were thousands of people waiting for me at the city hall.”
Her 100 backstroke gold medal swim can be viewed by clicking here.Harrison later competed at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, winning two gold medals (100m backstroke and relay), one silver (relay), and one bronze (100m freestyle).
In 1952, she received the Helms Foundation Award for the best athletic performance by an African athlete. Though she retired from international competition at the age of 17, she returned in 1956 to win national titles in the 100m backstroke and the 300m individual medley.
Harrison was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1982 as an Honor Swimmer. She was part of an 11-member class that included Clare Dennis (Australia), David Wilkie (Great Britain), Farid Simaika (Egypt), Gus Stager (United States), György Kárpáti (Hungary), Hjalmar Johansson (Sweden), Jean Boiteux (France), John Naber (United States), Shirley Babashoff (United States), and Ulrika Knape (Sweden). Harrison attended the ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was honored with a commemorative display and left her footprints in cement.
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