Full name Jennie Fletcher Name Jennie Fletcher National team Great Britain Role Swimmer | Sport Swimming Strokes Freestyle swimming Club Leicester Ladies SC | |
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Born 19 March 1890 ( 1890-03-19 ) Belgrave, Leicester, England Died January 17, 1968, Teeswater, Ontario, Canada Olympic medals Swimming at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre freestyle Similar People Belle Moore, Wilhelmina Wylie, Fanny Durack | ||
Jennie Fletcher (19 March 1890 – 17 January 1968), later known by her married name Jennie Hyslop, was a British competitive swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, and former world record-holder. In 1905 she set a new 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 were cancelled due to a shortage of participants. At the 1912 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the individual 100-metre freestyle race. In 1971 she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer".
Fletcher was born in an underprivileged family of 11 siblings and had to combine swimming with daily 12-hour work. In 1913 she began teaching swimming in Leicester, which ended her competitive career as she turned from an amateur into a professional. In 1917, she married and immigrated to Canada, where she gave birth to a daughter and five sons.