Sybil Fenton Newall (17 October 1854 – 24 June 1929), best known as Queenie Newall, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

who won the gold medal at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She was 53 years old at the time, still the oldest female gold medal winner at the Olympic Games. Great Britain did not win another women's archery medal at the Olympics until

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. She joined the Cheltenham Archers club in 1905, and was national champion on two occasions in 1911 and 1912.

Biography

Sybil "Queenie" Fenton Newall was born in Hare Hill House, Littleborough, Rochdale (part of her father's estate) on 17 October 1854. In 1905, along with her sister Margaret, she joined the local Cheltenham archery club. By 1907 she had won four of the five regional meetings. She took part at the

, held in

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

, London. The expected winner of the women's archery, Alice Legh, chose not to compete and so Queenie's main rival was

Lottie Dod Charlotte Dod (24 September 1871 – 27 June 1960) was an English multi-sport athlete, best known as a tennis player. She won the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Championship five times, the first one when she was only 15 in the summer of 1887. She ...

who was a sporting all-rounder. The entire field competing in the women's archery were British. On the first day of the Archery competition the weather in

White City Stadium White City Stadium was a stadium located in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car ...

was so poor that the event was stopped at one point. On the close of the first day Queenie was behind Dod by ten points. The second day's weather was much improved and Queenie overtook Dod, eventually winning with a score of 688 points, 46 points ahead of Dod who finished in the silver medal position. The victory made Queenie the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal, at the age of 53 years and 275 days, a record which still stands as of 2012. At the following National Championships, Newell was defeated by Alice Legh but she went on to win it in 1911, retained it in 1912, and won it once more in 1914. She continued in the sport following the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, her last score was recorded by the Cheltenham archery club in 1928. She died at her home in Cheltenham on 24 June 1929. After the 1908 Olympics, no female British archer won an Olympic medal until

Alison Williamson Alison Jane Williamson Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 3 November 1971) is a retired British people, British archery, archer who represented Great Britain at the Summer Olympics, Great Britain at six consecutive Olympic Games from 1992 t ...

won the bronze in the women's individual competition at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Personal life

Queenie was the eldest daughter of the ten children of Henry Newall and Maria Fenton. Her father was a merchant and owned Hare Hill House and estate in Littleborough,

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 Lancashi ...

. Her grandfather John Fenton was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

following the

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plan ...

and 1837 general elections. Queenie never married, and instead lived with her sister Margaret in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

all her life.

References

External links

Queenie Newall on databaseOlympics.com

Cheltenham Archers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newall, Queenie Olympic archers of Great Britain British female archers English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in archery Archers at the 1908 Summer Olympics People from Littleborough, Greater Manchester 1854 births 1929 deaths Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics