Sophia Hope Gorham (1881–1969) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

motorboat racer who competed in 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 ...

. She is the only woman in Olympic history to compete in a motorboat event.

Early life

Sophia Hope Hallowes was born on 10 November 1881, the daughter of George Skene Hallowes, a

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. By 1891, she was living in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

with her parents, six siblings and four domestic servants. In 1906, at the age of 25, she married the 53 year-old

John Marshall Gorham John Marshall Gorham (25 November 1853 – 12 January 1929) was a British motorboat racer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Career He was educated at Tonbridge School, and served an apprenticeship of four years (1870–1874) to Messrs. R ...

, an electrical engineer.

1908 Summer Olympics

Motorboat racing was featured as an official Olympic sport for the first and only time at the

. The sport was not specifically open to women, however they were also not explicitly prohibited. Sophia and her husband John competed in the Mixed B Class event, which only had two entrants: their boat ''Quicksilver,'' and ''Gyrinus.'' There was rough weather that day and ''Quicksilver'' was forced to abandon the race after one lap, while ''Gyrinus'' was able to finish the five-lap race and claimed the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. After the race, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' drew attention to Gorham as "an example of feminine endurance," however she was identified in the Olympic record books solely as "Mrs Gorham" and her full name wasn't revealed until research was completed years later.

Later life

By 1911, Gorham and her husband John were living in

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. John later died in 1929 and three years later she remarried, to Reverend Cuthred Compton, the

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Nat ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. On 4 December 1969, Sophia died in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

, West Sussex.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorham, Sophia Hope 1881 births 1969 deaths Motorboat racers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Motorboat racers British motorboat racers Female Olympic competitors Olympic motorboat racers for Great Britain