Margaretha Pedder (born 27 June 1980) is an English former competitive swimmer who specialised in butterfly events.

Swimming career

Pedder is the former British record holder in both the 100m butterfly and the 200m butterfly and became a semifinalist in the 200 m butterfly at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. Later she captured a bronze medal when her nation

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

hosted the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

. During her sporting career, Pedder trained with the Portsmouth Northsea Swim Club under head coach Chris Nesbit and later at the University of Southern California under Mark Schubert. Pedder competed in a butterfly double, as a member of

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...

, at the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. She eclipsed FINA A-standards of 1:00.74 (100 m butterfly) and 2:10.57 (200 m butterfly) from the British Olympic Trials in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. On the first day of the Games, Pedder placed thirtieth in the 100 m butterfly. Swimming in heat four, she escaped from last at the turn to edge out Finland's

Marja Pärssinen Marja Pärssinen (born 13 March 1971 in Jyväskylä, Finland) is a retired female butterfly and freestyle swimmer from Finland. Nicknamed ''Marde'' Pärssinen competed for her native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992 ...

by 0.41 seconds for the seventh seed in 1:01.53. Three days later, in the 200 m butterfly, Pedder advanced to the top 16, and finished her semifinal run with an eleventh-place time and a lifetime best of 2:10.49. When her nation

hosted the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Pedder enjoyed the race by a massive roar of a home crowd, as she took home the bronze in the 200 m butterfly at 2:11.60, extending a delightful feast for the Brits with a two–three finish. At the ASA National British Championships she won the 100 metres butterfly title in 2000 and the 200 metres butterfly title four times in 1996, 1997. 1998 and 1999. Pedder also competed in U.S collegiate swimming for the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, where she became a three-time All-American in the mile and 800 freestyle relay.

References

External links

Manchester 2002 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedder, Margaretha 1980 births Living people English female swimmers Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Female butterfly swimmers Sportspeople from Portsmouth Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Great Britain Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games