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Phillomena Alecia "Bonnie" Mealing (28 July 1912 – 1 January 2002) was an Australian freestyle and 
After the Olympics, Mealing abandoned the freestyle events to concentrate on the backstroke, and in February 1930, she set a world record of 1m 20.6 seconds in the 100-metre backstroke. However, the Australian authorities decided against sending any female swimmers to the inaugural
Passing of an Australian Swimming Legend
swimnews.com
Australian Olympic Committee profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mealing, Bonnie 1912 births 2002 deaths Australian female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Swimmers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Female backstroke swimmers Swimmers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
backstroke
Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...
swimmer of the 1920s and 1930s, who won a silver medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the first Australian to win a medal in backstroke.
At the age of 14 or 15, she was selected for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam after only a year of competing at the national level. After a long three-month sea voyage, and a bout of homesickness, she gained weight during the voyage, finishing third and fourth in her heat of the 100-metre freestyle and backstroke respectively, and was eliminated. This brought condemnation from Australian journalists.
After the Olympics, Mealing abandoned the freestyle events to concentrate on the backstroke, and in February 1930, she set a world record of 1m 20.6 seconds in the 100-metre backstroke. However, the Australian authorities decided against sending any female swimmers to the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games
The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what now is known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930.
The games were organized by ''Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...
in Hamilton, Canada. By the time the 1932 Summer Olympics arrived, the 18-year-old American swimmer Eleanor Holm
Eleanor G. Holm (December 6, 1913 – January 31, 2004) was an American competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. An Olympian in 1928 and 1932, she was expelled from the 1936 Summer Olympics team by Avery Brundage under controversial circu ...
had already cut 2 seconds off her world record, and Holm easily defeated Mealing by 2 seconds to claim the gold.
In 1933, Mealing set a world record in the 200-metre backstroke, but then retired from swimming, foregoing an opportunity to win gold at the 1934 British Empire Games
The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events we ...
in London. Phyllis Harding of England, whom Mealing defeated in Los Angeles, claimed the gold.
At her death in 2002, Mealing was the last surviving Australian medalist from the 1932 Olympics and the last surviving member of the Australian team to the 1928 Olympics.Ian Hanson and Paul Quinlan (6 January 2002Passing of an Australian Swimming Legend
swimnews.com
References
Bibliography
*External links
Australian Olympic Committee profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mealing, Bonnie 1912 births 2002 deaths Australian female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Swimmers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Female backstroke swimmers Swimmers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees