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 Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

in 1952 and three gold medals at the British Empire Games.

Early life

Gordon was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Gordon's mother, father and three daughters lived in a room and kitchen with an outside toilet opposite Hamilton police station. Her mother worked by taking in washing from the police station. 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. Her training had been restricted to 20-minute sessions at Hamilton where 90% of pool time was reserved for males. She had to compete for space with children learning to swim. Gordon remembered rationing in post-war Britain as a teenager. One of her memories was "queuing for hours in Hamilton after the war, and you were restricted to four apples when you got to the head of the queue." When she traveled for her competitions the family had to hand in their rationing books so that they were not given a surplus of food.

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 The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

in New Zealand. In 1950 she received the Nancy Riach memorial medal for her services to swimming. She won a bronze medal at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in Helsinki, the only British medalist in swimming. In 1954, she won two medals at the Commonwealth Games in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In 2014 she reflected on this time "It feels like it all didn't happen to me," she said. "Swimming really is a different world today. I don't know whether I feel sorry or happy for these folk winning medals now. I don't really think they mean as much. It is different kettle of fish, going away to New Zealand and Australia now. They don't blink an eye, going away training somewhere for a month, and then they are back and off somewhere else. It's just not the same, but I would not swap places. Maybe we had the better of the travel, compared to flying today - taking six weeks by boat, and not being jet-lagged. At the ASA National British Championships she won the 220 yards breaststroke title five times in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955 and 1956. Gordon retired from competitions after the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

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 in the over 60 age group. She was inducted into the

Scottish Sports Hall of Fame The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame is the national sports hall of fame of Scotland, set up in 2002. It is a joint project organised by sportscotland, the national governmental body for Scottish sport, and National Museums Scotland. It is also funded ...

in 2010.

Reporting

After leaving swimming she wrote a weekly column for the Daily Express and Evening Citizen in Glasgow.

Personal life

Gordon was married to fellow swimmer Ken McKay for 59 years, after meeting the pool at Hamilton Grammar when McKay was a pupil there. Gordon's husband of 59 years won 168 Scottish masters titles, 40 British titles, and five world golds, setting 10 world records and later became her carer. They had two sons, Colin and Allan and four granddaughters. She was a secretary and a sport reporter, covering swimming for two Scottish newspapers. Towards the end of her life, Gordon used a wheelchair due to a degenerative spinal condition. Gordon was inducted into the

in 2003, and into the

Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame The Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame, launched in 2010 by Scottish Swimming, is an accolade (and virtual platform) to recognize and celebrate the lifetime achievements of memorable Scottish athletes in all fields of aquatic sports. It is an event t ...

in 2010. She died on 5 July 2014 at the age of 81, following a long battle against ill health in

Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...

. Her funeral was held at the Daldowie Crematorium.

References

External links