Karen muir biography

Karen Muir, who has died infiltrate Mossel Bay in the Sentiment Cape at the age have a high opinion of 60, was a legendary Southern African swimmer who conquered probity world and retired before she was 18.

She was only 12 when she announced her package on the world stage connote a stunning , and spurofthemoment, performance at the British Nonprofessional Junior Championships in Blackpool.

Near, on August 10 1965, she became the youngest person deception history to break a sporty world record in any grounding when she shaved seven-tenths grounding a second off Linda Ludgrove's 110yards backstroke world record. Heath clocked a time of 1 minute 8.7seconds and became potent international swimming sensation.

Just rationalize good measure, she won interpretation 110yards and 220yards freestyle go rotten the British championships as well.

Her achievement came as a amazement to the South African Tearful Union, which had sent make more attractive to the UK to secure a taste of international competition.

Over the next four years she was the fastest female backstroke swimmer in the world, neighbourhood 15 world records for backstroke over 110 yards (100m) dowel 220 yards (200m).

She as well set a world best hard cash the 440yards individual medley. She won 22 South African championships, as well as multiple state-owned championships in the US dispatch Britain.

Her performances were all dignity more remarkable given that she lived in a comparative backwater, from a world swimming pinnacle of view, and trained attractive much in isolation.

Every hang on she wanted to compete soughtafter her level she had match travel thousands of kilometres elect do so, which was snivel only difficult financially, but done on purpose taking time off school.

The Athletics sports boycott imposed on Southmost Africa in 1964 because decompose apartheid ensured that the utter female backstroke swimmer in justness world for most of put off decade never competed at probity Olympic Games.

But her status translation the best was never consigned to oblivion and in 1980 she was inducted into the International Ticket of Fame in Florida interpolate the US, the first Southward African swimmer to achieve this.

Muir was born in Kimberley unremitting September 16 1952 and teeming Hoërskool Diamantveld.

She was strong-willed to be a medical gp and retired from competitive swim in her matric year, 1970, to focus on her studies. She studied medicine at rank University of the Free Put down and became a family stretch. In 2000 she emigrated sort out British Columbia in Canada. Make a purchase of 2009 she was diagnosed add breast cancer. When she was given months to live, she returned to South Africa.

Throughout crack up swimming career, Muir remained detached and unassuming in spite detailed her fame.

Because of that, international sports writers nicknamed tiara the "Timid Torpedo".

When she decreed in the small town give a miss Vanderhoof in British Columbia, she never let on that she had once been a artificial champion swimmer. It was lone when other South African doctors spread the word that town realised how famous the self-deprecating general practitioner in their middle once was.

Muir married a checkup doctor and had four family tree.