Joanne Louise Atkinson (born 4 March 1959), also known by her married name Joanne Palmer, is an English former competitive

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 ...

Swimming career

Atkinson represented Great Britain at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

in Montreal, Quebec, where she competed in the preliminary heats of the women's 100- and 200-metre butterfly events. Atkinson was born in

Chipping Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...

, Gloucestershire, England, and she attended

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding scho ...

in Somerset. At Millfield, Atkinson was trained by swimming coach Paddy Garratt. As a 15-year-old, she represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at the

1974 British Commonwealth Games The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where she reached the finals of the women's 100-metre butterfly and 4×100-metre medley relay events. At the ASA National British Championships she won the 100 metres butterfly title in 1973 and 1975 and the 200 metres butterfly title in 1975. After Millfield, Atkinson attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

in Miami, Florida, where she competed for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

swimming and diving team in 1977 and 1978. She received All-American honours both years. She later attended the universities of Durham and Loughborough. She is married (married surname Palmer) and has two children.

References

1959 births Living people English female swimmers Miami Hurricanes women's swimmers Olympic swimmers for Great Britain People educated at Millfield People from Chipping Campden Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Gloucestershire Commonwealth Games competitors for England 20th-century English women 21st-century English women {{UK-swimming-bio-stub

Swimming career

See also

References