Audio Clips

The following audio clips are available as .WAV files which can be downloaded to your PC and then played. The length and the size of the clip are displayed for your information. Left click to download and then automatically play, or right click and select Save Target As to save to your PC and play at a later date.

Swimmers  Talk

During the early part of the twentieth century, women and men were not allowed to swim in the same pools because it was considered immoral.

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22 seconds
499 kb

 Fourth placed British swimmer in the 100 metres freestyle at the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928, Jean McDowell, talks about how the No Mixed Bathing policy affected her training and the lack of time women were given in the pools. She refers to her swimming club, Warrender.
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1,032 kb		 British Olympic swimmer Joyce Cooper  (who won 4 Olympic medals and was later inaugurated into the Fort Lauderdale swimming Hall of Fame) was trained by her Father. She also talks about how the no mixed bathing policy affected her and her trainer.
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2,425 kb		 Sarah (Cissie) Stewart was an Olympic silver medalist at the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928. Cissie swam against the great American and gold medallist from the 1924 Paris Olympics, Martha Norelius. In this clip, Cissie remembers her individual event in which she swam with her friend, Vera Tanner.

Track and Field Stars of the 1930s talk

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1,772 kb		 Eva Dawes won bronze for Canada in the controversial high jump competition at the Los Angeles Olympics 1932. The controversy centred upon Babe Didrickson. In this audio clip, Eva talks about her rocky relationship with the Canadian athletics authorities.
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1,327 kb		 Violet Webb, as part of the relay team, won the very first British Olympic track and field medal at the Olympics in Los Angeles 1932. Here she talks about those Hollywood Games.
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1,892 kb		 Dorothy Odam high jumped for Great Britain for over 20 years and won silver in Berlin (1936) and London (1948). Here she talks about her experiences. Compare this to Olympic athletes today!
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1,407 kb		 Violet Webb remembers the Opening Ceremony of the Berlin Olympics and the arrival of Adolph Hitler.
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2,165 kb		 Violet talks about early women's athletics organisation and attitudes towards women athletes.

Gymnast Talks

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1,046 kb		 Brenda Crowe describes trying to get time off work to go to the Berlin Olympics to compete in the gymnastics!