Information AboutFaith Leech |
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Faith Leech (born March 31 1941 in Bendigo , Victoria , Australia ) was an Australia n freestyle swimmer of the 1950s, who won a gold medal in the 4 x 100 m freestyle relay at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics as well as bronze in the 100 m freestyle event. EARLY YEARS The second child of John and Jessie Leech, her parents named her Faith after their first child had died aged 2 due to Leukaemia . Leech was a delicate child, having an aversion to eating in the first two years of her life, forcing her mother to feed her hourly in small doses. Twice she had to be rushed from the regional Victorian town of Bendigo to Melbourne to be hospitalised. A naturopath eventually recommended she be put on a fast for ten days. She was later put on a diet of fruit, salad and vegetables, in particular beetroot and carrot juice. Leech’s health improved, but she remained weak and skinny. Her parents tried sending her to Ballet to help her gain muscle control and develop confidence, but after a period, her mother, a former competitive swimmer, turned her to swimming. Aged six, she was taken to swimming classes while holidaying in the Mornington Peninsula . There she was coached by Gus Froelich , who had been a European swimming champion who had also coached Australian Olympian Judy-Joy Davies . After a difficult start, she improved in the following year. She first showed her potential by setting a new State record at the State championships in the under 8 division. The following year she covered 25 yds in 15.7 s, three seconds faster than Davies had done at the same age. She progressed steadily, winning all the State age titles from 9 to 13, often setting new records. Living in Bendigo, she could only travel three times a year during Christmas holidays to train with Froelich, so she was forced to rely heavily on dry land simulations. When she was 12, she covered 110 yds in 70.1 s, then an unofficial world record for her age group. This prompted her parents to rent an apartment in Melbourne, so that she could train regularly with Froelich. She moved with her mother, while her father stayed in Bendigo tending to the family’s jewellery business. The regular sessions bore fruit when at the 1955 Victorian Championships, she won the open 110 yd and 220 yd freestyle in 1:07.2 and 2:39.3 respectively, setting new Victorian records. She proceeded to the Australian Championships, becoming the youngest to win an open title at 13, winning the 110 yd freestyle in 1:07.6. Leech’s regimen differed from that of other swimmers in that Froelich was not an advocate of distance training, and designed short work outs. Leech trained only once a day, swimming no more than two miles. Froelich emphasised an efficient stroke mechanism, an Leech used a long and graceful arm action. She stood 180 cm, but weighed only 57 kg, with broad shoulders, slim hips and large hands and feet. Because of spinal problems caused by a back misalignment, she was unable to use the optimal Flip Turn used by freestyle swimmers. NATIONAL SELECTION In August 1955, she set an Australian record of 65 s for the 110 yd and lowered it again to 64.8 s in October. She did not get an opportunity to defend her Australian record when illness forced her to be hospitalised in 1956. She recovered to win the national age titles in 64.6 s, just 0.1 s slower than Dawn Fraser ’s world record. She defeated Fraser and Lorraine Crapp again at another meeting the following month. Leech was named in the Olympic squad but was not required to travel to the training camp in Townsville as she was given special dispensation by the Australian Swimming Union to train in Melbourne with Froleich due to her special dietary requirements. Leech joined the squad for the final trials in Melbourne in October before the Olympics. Fraser and Crapp were too strong, with Leech finishing second and third in the trials. After combining with Fraser, Crapp and Margaret Gibson to break the 4 x 100 m freestyle relay world record prior to the Olympics, Leech was selected as the 100m freestyle entrant as well as in a squad of six swimmers for the 4 x 100 m freestyle relay. INTERNATIONAL CAREER In the 100m event, Leech, Fraser and Crapp all won their heats. Drawn in Fraser’s semifinal, Leech finished second, but was the third fastest qualifier to the final behind the other two Australians. In the final, Fraser and Crapp were far ahead of the field, finishing in 62 and 62.3 s respectively. Leech overtook Joan Rosazza of the United States in the final 25 metres to take bronze in 65.1 s. Leech said that it had been an emotional occasion, having seen the Australian men take a trifecta in the corresponding event. Leech was not assured of a place in the final quartet for the relay. In the heats, Fraser and Crapp were rested and the remaining four swimmers qualified the team. Leech swam the second leg in 1:05.9, the second fastest of the quartet, securing her position in the final team along with Sandra Morgan . The selection generated controversy, as they were the youngest swimmers and lacked experience at open level swimming: Morgan had false started twice at the Australian Championships. In the final, Australia made a poor start when Fraser almost stopped when she heard a second gun shot, believing a false start had occurred. She finished her leg in 64 s, almost two seconds slower than her personal best, but with a 2.3 s over the United States ’ Sylvia Ruuska . Leech, swimming the second leg, maintained the lead in the first 50 m but faded in the second half and finished in 65.1 s, the Australian lead cut to 0.8s. Morgan was then overhauled and passed by Nancy Simons . With 25 m left, Morgan took her head out of the water, and seeing the American a bodylength in front, responded with a surge to regain a 0.7 s lead into the final changeover. Crapp then established a 2.2 s victory to secure an Australian gold in a world record time of 4m 17.1s. RETIREMENT After the Olympics, Leech retired at the age of 15 as the first person from Bendigo to win an Olympic medal. She briefly worked as a model, before returning to Bendigo to help run her family’s jewelry business. She had two sons, but discouraged them from swimming competitively. REFERENCES |
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