Ethel Johnson (8 October 1908 – 30 March 1964) was an English
athlete who competed for Great Britain in the
1932 Summer Olympics. She was born in
Westhoughton
Westhoughton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.[Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...]
and was a member of Bolton United Harriers.
In 1932, she was one of a team of five women entered by the
Women's Amateur Athletic Association
The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...
at the
1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics as Britain's first female Olympians in athletics events, together with
Gwendoline Porter,
Eileen Hiscock
Eileen May Hiscock, later Wilson, (25 August 1909 – 3 September 1958) was an English track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. She was born in Blackheath, London.
A ...
,
Nellie Halstead
Nellie Halstead (19 September 1910 – 11 November 1991) was an English track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire and died in Bur ...
, and seventeen-year-old
Violet Webb
Violet Blanche Webb (later ''Simpson'', 3 February 1915 – 27 May 1999) was an English track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics.
She was born in Willesden and died in ...
. They sailed for five days from Southampton to Quebec and then travelled a further 3000 miles by train before arriving in Los Angeles. Ethel was eliminated in the first round of the
Olympic 100 metre contest. and had to be replaced due to injury by Violet Webb in the women's 4x100 metres relay.
At the 1934 Empire Games she was a member of the English relay team which won the silver medal in the 220-110-220-110 yards relay competition (with
Eileen Hiscock
Eileen May Hiscock, later Wilson, (25 August 1909 – 3 September 1958) was an English track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. She was born in Blackheath, London.
A ...
,
Nellie Halstead
Nellie Halstead (19 September 1910 – 11 November 1991) was an English track and field athlete who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire and died in Bur ...
, Johnson and
Ivy Walker).
''Commonwealth Games results''
. CWG. Retrieved 24 October 2015. In the 100 yards competition she finished fifth and in the 220 yards contest she finished sixth.
References
External links
1908 births
1964 deaths
People from Westhoughton
Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton
English female sprinters
Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Women's World Games medalists
Olympic female sprinters
Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games
{{England-athletics-bio-stub