Elaine Tanner-Watt, (born February 22, 1951) is a Canadian former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. Olympic medallist, and former world record-holder in two events.

Career

Nicknamed "Mighty Mouse" partly because of her small stature (standing barely five feet tall) and partly due to her competitive drive, Tanner had a large impact on Canadian swimming and is considered one of the top performers in the sport. During the

1966 Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth Par ...

in Kingston, Jamaica, Tanner won four gold medals and three silvers, becoming the first woman to ever win four golds at a Commonwealth Games and the first person to get seven medals in those games. She won the

Lou Marsh Trophy The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wit ...

, recognizing her as Canada's best athlete in 1966 — the youngest person to ever receive the award — and was also selected as the country's top athlete overall. The following year at the

1967 Pan American Games The 1967 Pan American Games were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from July 23 to August 6, 1967. Winnipeg was chosen as host of the Pan American Games on its second try. It first bid for the 1963 Games at the 1959 PASO meeting in Chicago ...

in Winnipeg, Tanner won two gold and three silver medals, breaking two world records in the process. Tanner arrived at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City as a heavy medal favorite. She won three Olympic medals in Mexico City, including two individual silver medals and one relay bronze. However, the media deemed the lack of gold a disappointment and led Tanner to suffer from depression, retiring from competition after the 1968 Olympics at just 18 years of age. Despite being of Canadian nationality she also won the ASA National British Championships over 110 yards butterfly in 1965.

Awards and accolades

In 1969, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1971. The Elaine Tanner Award has been presented to Canada's top junior female athlete since 1972.

Personal life

Following the games, Tanner fell into a depression that lasted decades, developed a serious eating disorder, suffered anxiety attacks and had her first marriage end after 9 years in 1980, with two children that wound up going to the custody of the father in Prince George as Tanner remained in Vancouver. Roaming around Canada doing odd jobs and eventually having a failed second marriage that ended in 1987,Christie, James, "Olympic Pressure Takes Personal Toll: Loser Label Sticks 24 Years." ''The Globe and Mail'', 23 July 1992 by 1988 she was living off her car, jobless, and feeling suicidal, but eventually found her footing again after meeting former lifeguard John Watt. She married him five years later,Elaine Tanner: one athlete's 40-year recovery from Olympic heartbreak
/ref> and lives with him in

White Rock, British Columbia White Rock is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It borders Semiahmoo Bay to the south and is surrounded on three sides by Surrey. To the southeast across a footbridge lies the ...

. They have a charity organization
Team Underdog.
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Bibliography

*''Monkey Guy And The Cosmic Fairy'' (2015) - children's book *''Quest Beyond Gold'' (TBD) - autobiography

References

External links