Ellen May Gandy (born 15 August 1991), also known by her nickname Elly Gandy, is a British-born Australian former female

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

swimmer. She represented Great Britain and England until 2012, and had almost all of her elite-level success under those flags. She represented

Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The United Kingdom was represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), and the team of selected athletes was offici ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the 200m butterfly swimming event, and was the 2011 World silver medalist at that distance. Following a disappointing 2012 Games, Gandy expressed an intention to swim for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, having lived and trained there since 2007, and served a period of ineligibility in order to do so. She represented Australia for the first time at a FINA World Cup event in Eindhoven in August 2013. She competed for Australia at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

but failed to medal. Gandy did not qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics, effectively ending her elite swimming career. Under her new flag, Gandy broke the Australian and Commonwealth short-course 200m butterfly record. She remains the British long course record-holder in 100 and 200 metre butterfly, and 4 × 100 metre medley.

Swimming career

At the age of 13, Gandy was selected by talent scouts to be a member of Britain's Smart Track squad of super talents formed by performance director

Bill Sweetenham William Sweetenham AM (born 23 March 1950) is an elite swimming coach. He has coached swimming teams of Australia, Britain, Hong Kong and the Argentina national swimming team. During his career, Sweetenham was Head National Team Coach at five Oly ...

. As a 16 year oldm she competed at the 2008 Olympics in the 200 m butterfly. On 19 March 2009 Gandy swam a European record time in the women's 200m butterfly at the British Championships in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. Her time of 2:04.83 beat the previous record of 2:05.61 set by Poland's

Otylia Jędrzejczak Otylia Jędrzejczak (; born 13 December 1983) is a Polish swimmer. She was the Olympic champion from 2004 Athens in the 200 metre butterfly. She finished 4th in this event in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and also swam at the 2000 Summ ...

and was almost two seconds faster than Jemma Lowe's previous British record. In 2011 at the World Championships in Shanghai, Gandy claimed silver in the 200m butterfly. She was second to Jiao Liuyang, China's Olympic silver medallist of 2008, and ahead of the bronze medallist Liu Zige, Olympic champion for China in 2008. Gandy secured her place in the British team for the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

with victory in the 100 m and 200 m butterfly in the trials at the

London Aquatics Centre The London Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility with two swimming pools and a diving pool in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. The centre, designed by architect Zaha Hadid as one of the main venues of the 2012 Summer Olymp ...

. At the Olympics she finished in 19th place. She competed for Australia at the

Personal life

Gandy started school at Balgowan Primary School,

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

, UK and then went to

Langley Park School for Girls Langley Park School for Girls (also known as Langley Park Girls' School, LPGS, or just Langley Girls) is a girls' secondary academy school in Beckenham in the London Borough of Bromley, England, with a mixed-sex sixth form. The school motto ...

before moving to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 2007 where she attended

Carey Baptist Grammar School Carey Baptist Grammar School, commonly known as Carey, is an Independent school, independent and co-educational, Baptists, Baptist day school in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The institution consists of five campuses: Kew, Victoria, ...

. Since her switch, Gandy has publicly adopted the first name Elly, the name by which she has been known privately in Australia. Following her swimming career, Gandy qualified to practice law in Australia, qualifying as a solicitor and working as a corporate counsel.
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References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandy, Ellen 1991 births Australian female butterfly swimmers Naturalised citizens of Australia English emigrants to Australia Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics People from Bromley Living people Olympic swimmers of Great Britain Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Swimmers at the 2010 Commonwealth Games People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Swimming career

Personal life

See also

References

External links