Jennie Fletcher

Jennie Fletcher, later known by her married name Jennie Hyslop, was a British competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist and former world record holder, born on 19 March 1890 and died on 17 January 1968. In 1905 she set a world record in the 100-yard freestyle that stood for seven years. She was selected for the 1908 Olympics, but the women's swimming events there were cancelled for lack of entrants. At the 1912 Summer Olympics she won gold in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay and bronze in the individual 100-metre freestyle. She came from a family of eleven children and combined training with a twelve-hour working day. She began teaching swimming in Leicester in 1913, which ended her amateur status, emigrated to Canada in 1917 and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1971.