Elizabeth Valerie Davies (29 June 1912 – 2 August 2001), later known by her married name Valerie Latham, was a Welsh competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1932 Summer Olympics.[2][3]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Elizabeth Valerie Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 June 1912 Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 August 2001 (aged 89)[1] Newport, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, backstroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Roath Park SC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Swimming career
editAt only 15 she won secured a Welsh championship.[4] Throughout her teenage years she won multiple Welsh swimming records.[5][6][7] She also competed for Wales at the 1930 British Empire Games winning all three medals. She was awarded two silver medals in the 100 yards backstroke and the 400 yards freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100 yards freestyle. Four years later she won the bronze medal in the 100 yards backstroke event.[8][9][10] In 1931, she represented Britain in 2 events at the World's Swimming Championships.[11]
In the 1932 Olympics she won bronze medals in the 100 m backstroke event and in 4×100 m freestyle relay event and was third in her first round heat of 100 m freestyle event and did not advance.[12]
Personal life
editDavies was born, 29 June 1912, in Cardiff.[13][14] She lived by Roath Park Lake, where she had to do most of her training, as at the time there wasn't a pool larger than 20-yards in the local area.[14] She married Ricki Latham, a pilot officer in the Auxiliary Air Force, in 1939.[15] She died in Newport, in August 2001.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Valerie Davies at Olympedia
- ^ "Mis Valerie Davies' Exhibition". Somerset Standard, Somerset Guardian. 7 October 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Valerie Davies". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
- ^ "Roth Park S.C. Gala". Western Mail. 28 July 1925. p. 4. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Miss Valerie Davies, of Cardiff". Western Mail. 3 September 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Valerie Davies Again". Western Mail. 26 July 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Swimming Record Broken". South Wales Evening Post. 12 June 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Welsh Swimming Team to Compete at Wembley". Western Mail. 29 June 1934. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Valerie Davies Impressive". The Hamilton Spectator. 18 August 1930. p. 21. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Empire Games Swimming". Evening Post. Press Association. 19 August 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Word's Championship". Western Mail. 14 August 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "The Olympic Games: Cambridge Crew Redeem Themselves: Valerie Davies Third in Swimming Final". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 12 August 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Valerie Davies". Welsh Sports Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ a b Hitt, Carolyn (31 March 2018). "How Wales has punched above its weight for so long at the Commonwealth Games". Wales Online. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Miss Valerie Davies Married". Western Mail. 30 June 1939. p. 13. Retrieved 28 June 2024.; see also: Marriage Picture. Western Mail. 30 June 1939. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
