Valerie Robertson (née Forder; born 1943) is a British former Paralympic athlete who competed in archery, athletics, swimming, and wheelchair fencing, winning at least a silver medal in each. She won a total of six Paralympic gold medals at three Games. After completing her Paralympic career, Robertson had a very successful transition to wheelchair lawn bowling.

Sporting career

Robertson, competing under her maiden name of Forder, participated in the

1964 Summer Paralympics The , originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games and also known as Paralympic Tokyo 1964,

and again in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. She entered four different sporting disciplines, winning at least a silver in each one. At the 1964 Games, Robertson won a medal in all but one of the events in which she competed. She won gold in the 50m freestyle, along with two other swimming medals. She also received silver in the archery and wheelchair fencing, along with a bronze in the discus, only missing out on a medal in the club throw. It was at the 1968 Games in Tel Aviv that Robertson achieved her greatest results, winning five gold medals out of the nine events in which she competed. Three medals came from 50m swimming events (the backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle) with two further golds in athletics (the 60m wheelchair race and the pentathlon). Robertson returned to the Paralympics at the 1976 Games in Toronto, competing under her married name. She entered three events, winning bronze in a wheelchair fencing team event. Turning her attentions to lawn bowls, Robertson helped to improve wheelchair access to greens and a ramp to assist in the launch of the balls. She quickly became one of the leading female bowlers, hailed as one of the all-time best competitors in the Scottish Disability Sport National Bowls Championships. Alongside her husband John, Robertson is viewed as having a significant impact on Scottish disability bowls and they are credited with helping the country achieve international success in the sport.

Personal life

Valerie Robertson was born in 1943 and is married to John Robertson, a

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

gold medallist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Valerie 1943 births Paralympic archers for Great Britain Paralympic athletes for Great Britain Paralympic swimmers for Great Britain Paralympic wheelchair fencers for Great Britain Paralympic gold medalists for Great Britain Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain Paralympic bronze medalists for Great Britain Living people Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Archers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair fencers at the 1976 Summer Paralympics British female archers British female foil fencers Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) English wheelchair curlers British female swimmers Wheelchair discus throwers Paralympic discus throwers English female wheelchair racers