Mary Kok (born in 1940 in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

) is a renowned Dutch swimmer. Between 1954 and 1957 she set ten world records from the young age of 15 to 17 years: *440 yd freestyle *880 yd freestyle *800 m freestyle *1760 yd freestyle *100 yd butterfly *100 m butterfly *400 yd individual medley *400 m individual medley *1 relay Kok was to swim in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne for the Dutch Olympic Team until the night before she was to depart when the Netherlands boycotted the competition over Russia's invasion of Hungary In 2016 Kok, along with other athletes whose athletic careers were affected by the boycott were honoured by the Hungarian government. Kok said in her speech, she had always felt that her gold medal was at the bottom of the swimming pool in Melbourne, but that the Hungarian people gave her the feeling that the honorary medal was given to her wholeheartedly. In 1960, Kok became first Dutch woman to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

In 1955, she became Dutch Sportsman of the year and in 1980, was inducted to the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

.Mary Kok
. zwemmenindepolder.nl On 28 December 1962, she married Kees Oudegeest, and later became a swimming coach.
. www.ishof.org In 2015, Kok was invited by the Dutch Sports Federation to be recognised at their annual Athlete of the Year event. Kok won Athlete of the Year in 1955 at the age of 15 years.

External links

*https://nos.nl/artikel/2075680-muizenmethode-maakte-zwemster-mary-kok-de-beste.html A video interview after the Athlete of the Year ceremony

References

1940 births Living people Dutch female freestyle swimmers English Channel swimmers World record setters in swimming Dutch female long-distance swimmers Sportspeople from Hilversum Dutch female butterfly swimmers Dutch female medley swimmers 20th-century Dutch women {{Netherlands-swimming-bio-stub

See also

External links

References