1. Helen Orr "Elenor" Gordon was a Scottish breaststroke swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1948,1952 and 1956 Olympics, and Scotland at the 1950 and 1954 British Empire Games.
15 Facts About Elenor Gordon
1. 2.
Elenor Gordon won an Olympic bronze medal in the 200-metre breaststroke in 1952 and three gold medals at the British Empire Games.
3.
Elenor Gordon's mother worked by taking in washing from the police station.
4.
Elenor Gordon learnt to swim at Hamilton Baths, where her father Gavin Gordon worked as a lifeguard.
5.
Elenor Gordon was part of the swimming team coached by David Crabb at the Motherwell Baths.
6.
Elenor Gordon had to compete for space with children learning to swim.
7.
From 1947 until 1957 Elenor Gordon was the Scottish champion in the 200-metre breaststroke.
8.
Elenor Gordon won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the only British medalist in swimming.
9.
Elenor Gordon retired from competitions after the 1956 Summer Olympics to raise a family.
10.
Elenor Gordon resumed competing in the 1990s, as a master swimmer, winning world titles and setting world records in the over 60 age group.
11.
Elenor Gordon was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
12.
Elenor Gordon was a secretary and a sport reporter, covering swimming for two Scottish newspapers.
13.
Towards the end of her life, Elenor Gordon used a wheelchair due to a degenerative spinal condition.
14.
Elenor Gordon was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003, and into the Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame in 2010.
15.
Elenor Gordon died on 5 July 2014 at the age of 81, following a long battle against ill health in Wishaw.