__NOTOC__ Lela Alene Brooks (February 7, 1908 – September 11, 1990) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

and multiple world-record holder. She specialized in short track skating.

Biography

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Brooks was the first female member of the Old Orchard Skating Club and entered her first race at age 12. Her father, a dental technician, and her mother both skated and encouraged their kids toward the sport. She had two siblings, one of which was an older brother who also went on to become a Canadian skating champion. She began setting Ontario and Canadian records in 1923 at the age of 15. By the end of 1925, when she was 17, Brooks had broken six world records. She would ultimately set 17 world records and win 65 championships over her skating career, all done within North America. At the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

, she participated in three demonstration events, all with competitors from Canada and the United States. She made it to the finals in all three events, but placed no higher than fourth. Her time in the 1500 m heats, 2:54.0, was more than 15 seconds under the official world record, but the time was not recognised since the race was skated under the North American mass start rules. In 1933, Brooks was listed among her country's elite athletes as one of "Canada's Big Trains" by the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

''. Later that year, her divorce from her first husband, Arthur Potter, was widely publicized. Despite all of her achievements, Brooks remained an amateur athlete throughout her career and did not employ a formal coach. She did receive some limited sponsorship, however, as CCM provided her with $10 per week and two pairs of skates each season. She was also sponsored in her early years by millionaire ice hockey team owner Teddy Oke. She qualified for the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

, the first time women's speed skating competed officially, but chose to retire. Later that year, she married

druggist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

Russ Campbell and moved to

Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attractio ...

, where he opened a pharmacy. They had four children together, including at least one daughter, Dorothy Jane Campbell (1947–1978). Campbell passed away in 1967 after 31 years of marriage. Brooks died in Owen Sound at age 82 and, though she had married a third husband, Cliff Bleich, in 1972, she was buried in Owen Sound's Greenwood Cemetery with her second husband, Russ. In 1972, Brooks was inducted into both the Speed Skating Canada Hall of Fame and

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 ...

Championships

1923

*440 yards, Girls Under 18 – Ontario Championship *1 mile Indoor, Open – Ontario Championship

1924

*440 yards, Girls Under 16 – Canadian Championship *880 yards, Girls Under 18 – Canadian Championship *880 yards, Ladies Open – Canadian Championship *Winner of Silver Skates Derby, Chicago

1925

*440 yards, Girls Under 16, Ontario Championship *3/4 mile, Open – Ontario Championship *880 yards, Open – Ontario Championship *220 yards, Open – Canadian Championship *880 yards, Girls Under 18 – Canadian Championship *440 yards, Open – Canadian Championship *880 yards, Open – Canadian Championship *1 mile, Open – Canadian Championship *880 yards, Under 18 – Indoor Ontario Championship *220 yards, Open – Indoor Ontario Championship *440 yards, Open – Indoor Ontario Championship *880 yards, Open – Indoor Ontario Championship *Winner and Lap Prize Winner – Silver Skates Derby, Chicago *220 yards, Ladies Open – Chicago *440 yards, Ladies Open – Chicago *220 yards, International Championships, Pittsburgh *440 yards, International Championships, Pittsburgh *1 mile, International Championships, Pittsburgh *For 3 years – Winner of Sidney E. Ballard Trophy, presented to the girls under 18, Old Orchard Speed Skating Club Annual Competition – 440, 880,

1926

*880 yards, Under 18 – Canadian Championship *440 yards, Open – Canadian Championship *880 yards, Open – Canadian Championship *1 mile, Open – Canadian Championship *220 yards, Outdoor International Championships, Detroit *440 yards, Outdoor International Championships, Detroit *880 yards, Outdoor International Championships, Detroit *1 mile, Outdoor International Championships, Detroit *440 yards, Indoor International Championships, Pittsburgh *1 mile, Indoor International Championships, Pittsburgh *440 yards, Ladies Open – Worlds Championships, Saint John, New Brunswick *880 yards, Ladies Open – Worlds Championships, Saint John, New Brunswick *1 mile, Ladies Open – Worlds Championships, Saint John, New Brunswick *Overall Ladies World Champion, Saint John, New Brunswick *220 yards, Open – Middle Atlantic Championships, Newburgh, New York *440 yards, Open – Middle Atlantic Championships, Newburgh, New York *880 yards, Open – Middle Atlantic Championships, Newburgh, New York

1927

*220 yards, Ladies Open – Indoor International Championships, Pittsburgh *880 yards, Ladies Open – Indoor International Championships, Pittsburgh *1 mile, Ladies Open – Indoor International Championships, Pittsburgh *440 yards, Outdoor Canadian Championships *880 yards, Outdoor Canadian Championships *1 mile, Outdoor Canadian Championships *220 yards, Indoor Canadian Championships, Quebec City *440 yards, Indoor Canadian Championships, Quebec City *880 yards, Indoor Canadian Championships, Quebec City *1 mile, Indoor Canadian Championships, Quebec City *220 yards, Ladies Open – City of Toronto Championships *440 yards, Ladies Open – City of Toronto Championships

1928

*220 yards, Middle Atlantic Championships, Newburgh, New York *440 yards, Middle Atlantic Championships, Newburgh, New York *220 yards, Indoor Championships, Detroit *440 yards, Indoor Championships, Detroit *880 yards, Indoor Championships, Detroit *1 mile, Mardi Gras Carnival, Detroit, broke World's Record at 3:13 4/5 **Winner of Oakland Sports Coupe for breaking World's Record at Mardi Gras Carnival, Detroit *1 mile, Canadian Championship, broke World's Record

1929

*440 yards, North American Championship, Detroit *220 yards, Ontario Outdoor Championship *440 yards, Ontario Outdoor Championship *880 yards, Ontario Outdoor Championship

1930

*1/2 mile, North American Outdoor Championships, Ottawa, broke World's Record *3/4 mile, North American Outdoor Championships, Ottawa, broke World's Record *North American Point Champion

1932 – 1933

*880 yards, International Invitation, Detroit *1 mile, International Invitation, Detroit *1 mile, Open – Skate Derby, Detroit *Championship – United States Western Indoor Meet *880 yards & , International Match Races with

Helen Bina Helen Bina (May 19, 1912 – March 15, 1983) was an American speed skater who competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics. She competed at the women's speed skating events at the 1932 Winter Olympics which were held as demonstration sport. She finishe ...

, U.S. National Champion *1 mile, Toronto Championships at Varsity *440 yards, Toronto Championships at Varsity

1934

*North American Indoor Championships, Toronto

1935

*Points Champion, North American Indoor, Saint John, New Brunswick

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Lela 1908 births 1990 deaths Canadian female speed skaters Olympic speed skaters of Canada Canadian female short track speed skaters People from Old Toronto Sportspeople from Toronto Skating people from Ontario Speed skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics 20th-century Canadian women