Nancy Riach
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  United Kingdom
| ||
| European Championships (LC) | ||
| Women’s swimming | ||
| Bronze | 1947 Monte Carlo | 4×100 m freestyle |
Nancy Riach (1927–1947) was a Scottish swimmer who in 1945 held 28 British and Scottish records at various disciplines.[1]
Riach was a member of the Motherwell Amateur Swimming and Water Polo Club.[2] In 1946 she was the British Champion at the 100 yards, 200 yards and 440 yards freestyle events.[2]
In 1947, whilst competing at the European Swimming Championships in Monte Carlo, she contracted polio.[3][4] Against the doctors advice, she continued to race and was pulled unconscious from the pool at the end of the 100 yards freestyle event; she never regained consciousness.[5]
Riach was already considered to be one of the greatest swimmers of her generation.[2] She was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[2]
The Nancy Riach Memorial Medal is 'awarded annually to the person who has done the most to enhance or uphold the prestige of Scottish swimming in any of its disciplines during the year'.[6]
References
- ↑ "Nancy Riach". Scottish Swimming. 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Nancy Riach". Sport Scotland. 2002. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ "Nancy Riach Dies". The Montreal Gazette. 16 September 1947. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ "British Swimming Girl Champion Dies". The Adelaide Advertiser. 16 September 1947. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ "Charles Riach". The Herald. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ↑ "Scottish Swimming Annual Awards Ceremony". Scottish Swimming. September 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2013.