Joan Harrison (swimmer)

Joan Cynthia Harrison (later Breetzke, born 29 November 1935) is a retired South African swimmer who won the 100 m backstroke event at the 1952 Olympics.

Harrison's mother was a swimmer and her father played rugby. Joan went to Clarendon High School for Girls in East London. At age 13, she held three junior and two senior national records, and two national senior swimming titles. In 1950, aged 14, she won the 440 yd freestyle at the British Empire Games, beating the previous games record by 13 seconds and finishing 7 seconds ahead of other competitors, and was declared the outstanding woman swimmer of the games. She won two more gold medals at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In 1982 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

See also

List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame

References

External links

1935 births

Living people

Sportspeople from East London, South Africa

South African female backstroke swimmers

South African female freestyle swimmers

South African female swimmers

Olympic swimmers for South Africa

Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Swimmers at the 1950 British Empire Games

Swimmers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Olympic gold medalists for South Africa

Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa

Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa

Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa

South African people of British descent

Olympic gold medalists in swimming

Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming

Alumni of Clarendon High School for Girls

20th-century South African women

21st-century South African women

Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games

Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games