Wilhelmina "Mina" Wylie (27 June 1891 – 6 July 1984) was one of Australia's first two female Olympic

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

representatives, along with friend

Fanny Durack Sarah Frances "Fanny" Durack (27 October 1889 – 20 March 1956), also known by her married name Fanny Gately, was an Australian competition swimmer. From 1910 until 1918 she was the world's greatest female swimmer across all distances from ...

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"Wylie, Wilhelmina (Mina) (1891–1984)"
Australian Dictionary of Biography

Early life

Wylie grew up in South Coogee, Sydney, where her father Henry Wylie built Wylie's Baths in 1907. The Baths are the oldest surviving communal sea baths in Australia.

Career

After competing against each other in the Australian and New South Wales Swimming Championships during the 1910/11 swimming season, Wylie and Durack persuaded officials to let them attend the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, where women's swimming events were being held for the first time. Durack won a gold medal, and Wylie a silver medal. Twenty-seven women contested the 100-metre event, including six from Great Britain and four from Germany. Swimsuits generally reached down to the mid-thigh, although some were sleeveless. The pool was built in an inlet of Stockholm Harbour, and competitors swam without lane ropes. Durack's time in the 100-metre final was 1:22.2, and Wylie's was 1:25.4. Wylie competed in New South Wales and Australian championships from 1906 to 1934, winning 115 titles, including every Australian and New South Wales championship event in 1911, 1922 and 1924 in freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. She was inducted into 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 s ...

in 1975. On 27 June 2021, to celebrate what would have been her 130th birthday, Wylie was honoured with a

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for Australian users.

References

External links

* * *
Wilhelmina (Mina) Wylie collection at the State Library of New South Wales

"Too much Boldness and Rudeness - Australia's first Olympic Ladies Swimming Team"
National Centre for History Education (Peter Cochrane) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wylie, Mina 1891 births 1984 deaths Olympic swimmers of Australasia Swimmers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australasia Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Australian female freestyle swimmers Australian female breaststroke swimmers Australian female backstroke swimmers Olympic silver medalists in swimming Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian women

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links