Elaine Tanner
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Olympic medal record | |||
---|---|---|---|
Women’s Swimming | |||
Silver | Mexico City 1968 | 100m Backstroke | |
Silver | Mexico City 1968 | 200m Backstroke | |
Bronze | Mexico City 1968 | 4x100m Freestyle Relay |
Elaine Tanner-Watt (born February 22, 1951 in Vancouver, British Columbia) was a Canadian swimmer.
Nicknamed "Mighty Mouse" partly because of her small stature (standing barely five feet tall) and partly due to her competitive drive, Elaine Tanner made one of the biggest impacts in the water of any Canadian swimmer ever.
During the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, Tanner won four gold medals and three silvers, becoming the first woman to ever win four golds at a Commonwealth Games. She was named Canada’s best athlete in 1966 — the youngest person to ever receive the award — and was also selected this country’s top athlete overall.
The following year at the Pan American Games, Tanner won two gold and three silver medals in Winnipeg, breaking two world records in the process.
Tanner arrived at the 1968 Summer Olympics as a heavy medal favorite. She earned three times in Mexico City, winning two individual silver medals and one relay bronze.
Tanner retired from competition after the 1968 Olympics at just 18 years of age, and was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971.
The Elaine Tanner Award has been presented to Canada’s top junior female athlete since 1972.
In 1969, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Preceded by: Petra Burka |
Lou Marsh Trophy winner 1966 |
Succeeded by: Nancy Greene |
Categories: Canadian sportspeople stubs | 1951 births | Living people | Canadian swimmers | Backstroke swimmers | Canada's Sports Hall of Fame | Officers of the Order of Canada | British Columbia sportspeople | People from Vancouver | Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics | Olympic swimmers of Canada | German Canadians