Judy Grinham
Encyclopedia
'Judy Grinham MBE
(born 5 March 1939) is a British Olympic
swimmer. She was born in the London
suburb
of Hampstead
and grew up in Neasden. She married Pat Rowley in Neasden in 1960, in St. Catherine's Church
and they had two children, Keith and Alison.
Grinham competed in the 1956 Olympic Games
in Melbourne
, Australia
, winning the 100m backstroke
in 1 minute 12.9 seconds, a World record. She became the first Briton to win an Olympic swimming gold since Lucy Morton
in 1924.
Grinham competed in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
in Cardiff
, Wales
and won the 100m backstroke in 1:11.9. She went on to win a second gold medal in the four x 100m medley team and the 1958 European Championships in Budapest
and won a gold in the 100m backstroke. This led to her being the first athlete in any sport to hold Olympic, Commonwealth and European Gold medals, at the same time.
In 2007, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
in the Queens Birthday Honours list, 50 years after winning gold in Melbourne.
Judy Grinham - A Brief History
Judy Grinham was born in 1939 in Hampstead, West London, to Norman Frederick Grinahm and Flora Edith Grinham. Six months after she was born her father was sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Forces, having survived Dunkirk, he was then posted to the Middle East and did not return until Judy was nearly 7 years old. On his return, to build a relationship with his daughter he took her swimming in the open air pool in Gladstone Park, Neasden. Over the next few years she learnt to swim so well that he put her up for trials at the newly formed Hampstead Ladies swimming club. She trialled three times before they felt she was good enough to join the club, and in January 1950 she was finally given a place. Her progress was slow at first, but she was determined and motivated to do well. As she gradually began to improve she started to train regularly, but training in those days was not the same as the Olympic Athletes of today. She would train in public swimming pools, with no dedicated lanes, dodging members of the public. No training facilities, no sponsorship deals, the sport was strictly amateur, and the cost was funded by her family.
Over the next 5 years, slowly but surely, she began to start winning and progressed to national competitions.
Six years later, in 1956, at the age of 17, she was picked for the Olympic squad and went to the Melbourne Olympics, where she outswam the favourite and by a hairs breadth won the Olympic Gold Medal in a New World record time (and the first British Swimming Gold Medallist for 32 years). She also went on to be the first athlete in any sport to hold the Olympic, Commonwealth and European gold medals at the same time.
Judy retired at her peak and went on to report on the 1960 Rome Olympics for the Daily Express.
She married her first husband, sports journalist Patrick Rowley, in 1960, and retired from the limelight, they had two children, Keith and Alison. Judy later divorced and remarried Michael Roe, and moved to Cornwall. She was widowed in 2010 and now lives in Hertfordshire and spends her time enjoying her extended family, she has five grandchildren and five step-grandchildren.
Judy Grinham - Achievements
1955
Hounslow Swimming Club Birthday Gala
Broke British Native, English, Southern Counties and Middlesex record for 100 yards backstroke - 1 min 6.3 seconds
G.B. v. Germany, Aberdeen (First representative of country – aged 16)
2nd – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 min 14.7 seconds
N.B. Judy was taking her GCSE’s either side of this international
Middlesex County Championships
1st - 100 metres Backstroke – 1 min 15.6 seconds
Denmark v. England, Aalbourg
Six-cornered International Moscow.
1st – 100 metres Backstroke – 1. Min 14.7 seconds
National Championships, Blackpool
1st - 110 yards backstroke
1956
G.B. v. France, Birmingham
Broke British record.
Grand Prix de Paris
1st – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 min 13.4 seconds
G.B. v. Netherlands, Coatbridge
1st – 100 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 6.8 seconds
National Championships, Blackpool
1st - 110 yards backstroke - 1 minute 14.5 seconds
'Olympic Games, Melbourne, Australia, 1956
1st – Gold Medal - 100 metres Backstroke Final – 1 minute 12.9 seconds – World & Olympic Record
FIRST SWIMMING OLYMPIC GOLD FOR 32 YEARS
8th - 100 metres Relay Final
Daily Express Sportswoman of the Year 1956
A.S.A. T.M. Yeadon Trophy, Swimmer of the Year.
President’s Plate, Middlesex County Swimming Association
1957
N.B. Swimming frontcrawl only, not backstroke, this year.
Germany v. G.B., Hildesheim (relay team only)
Broke Middlesex 100 yards freestyle record.
G.B. v. Holland, Blackpool'
Competed in individual and team frontcrawl events.
China v. England – 3 internationals in Peking, Shanghai and Canton
1st – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 minute 12.9 seconds
National Championships, Blackpool
1st – 220 yards Front Crawl
2nd – 110 yards Front Crawl
1957
Individual tour of South Africa, including South African Championships
South African Tour
Johannesburg - 1st – 150 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 49.4 seconds
Cape Town - 1st – 100 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 6.3 seconds
SA Championships
1st – 100 yards Backstroke
2nd – 100 yards Freestyle – 59.4 seconds
1st - 220yards Freestyle – 2 mins 28.3 seconds
1958
G.B. v. Germany, Cardiff
2nd – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 minute 15.3 seconds
G.B. v. Holland, Blackpool
2nd – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 minute 13.6 seconds
Southern Counties Championship – London
1st – 100 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 4.8 seconds
1958 British Empire Commonwealth Games, Cardiff
'1st - 110 yards Backstroke - 1min 11.9 seconds - World, & Commonwealth Record
1st - Medley Relay Team - 4 min 54.0 seconds - World Record
3rd - 4 x 110 yards Relay
National Championships, Blackpool
1st - 110 yards backstroke
1st - 110 yards frontcrawl
1958 European Championships, Budapest
1st - 100 metres Backstroke Final – 1 min 12.6 seconds (European Record)'
3rd - Women’s 100 metres Freestyle Final – 65.4 seconds
2nd - 100 metres Relay
3rd - Medley Relay Team
'Daily Express Sportswoman of the Year 1958
First athlete in any sports to win and hold Olympic, Commonwealth and European Gold Medals at the same time.
1960
Retired from competitive swimming. Covered 1960 Rome Olympics as journalist for The Daily Express.
1981
Honoured in the Swimming Hall of Fame, Florida
2006
Awarded MBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours
Other Achievements
- Swimming coach for Hampstead Ladies Swimming Club, Ruislip/Northwood Swimming Club.
- Appeared in film ‘Operation Bullshine’
- Waxwork model- Madame Tussauds
- Worked for the Daily Express for 2 years as swimming reporter, covered 1960 Rome Olympics
- Barnardo’s for almost 15 years as Field Fundraiser, National Trainer and Head of Appeals Training
- Abbeyfield Society
- Samaritans
- Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, St. Austell.
- Member of Eastcote Hockey Ladies 1st XI that won the Middlesex County Championships x 2
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 5 March 1939) is a British Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
swimmer. She was born in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
and grew up in Neasden. She married Pat Rowley in Neasden in 1960, in St. Catherine's Church
Neasden
Neasden is an area in northwest London, UK. It forms part of the London Borough of Brent.-History:The area was recorded as Neasdun in 939 AD and the name is derived from the Old English nēos = 'nose' and dūn = 'hill'. It means 'the nose-shaped hill' referring to a well-defined landmark of this area...
and they had two children, Keith and Alison.
Grinham competed in the 1956 Olympic Games
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, winning the 100m backstroke
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
in 1 minute 12.9 seconds, a World record. She became the first Briton to win an Olympic swimming gold since Lucy Morton
Lucy Morton
Lucy Morton was a British swimmer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics where she won a gold medal in the 200 m breaststroke event.-Early life:...
in 1924.
Grinham competed in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Cardiff, capital of Wales from 18–26 July 1958.Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games and 23 countries and dependencies won medals, including, for the first time, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and won the 100m backstroke in 1:11.9. She went on to win a second gold medal in the four x 100m medley team and the 1958 European Championships in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and won a gold in the 100m backstroke. This led to her being the first athlete in any sport to hold Olympic, Commonwealth and European Gold medals, at the same time.
In 2007, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the Queens Birthday Honours list, 50 years after winning gold in Melbourne.
See also
- Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 1956 Summer OlympicsGreat Britain and Northern Ireland at the 1956 Summer OlympicsThe United Kingdom competed as Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 189 competitors, 163 men and 26 women, took part in 108 events in 17 sports....
Judy Grinham - A Brief History
Judy Grinham was born in 1939 in Hampstead, West London, to Norman Frederick Grinahm and Flora Edith Grinham. Six months after she was born her father was sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Forces, having survived Dunkirk, he was then posted to the Middle East and did not return until Judy was nearly 7 years old. On his return, to build a relationship with his daughter he took her swimming in the open air pool in Gladstone Park, Neasden. Over the next few years she learnt to swim so well that he put her up for trials at the newly formed Hampstead Ladies swimming club. She trialled three times before they felt she was good enough to join the club, and in January 1950 she was finally given a place. Her progress was slow at first, but she was determined and motivated to do well. As she gradually began to improve she started to train regularly, but training in those days was not the same as the Olympic Athletes of today. She would train in public swimming pools, with no dedicated lanes, dodging members of the public. No training facilities, no sponsorship deals, the sport was strictly amateur, and the cost was funded by her family.
Over the next 5 years, slowly but surely, she began to start winning and progressed to national competitions.
Six years later, in 1956, at the age of 17, she was picked for the Olympic squad and went to the Melbourne Olympics, where she outswam the favourite and by a hairs breadth won the Olympic Gold Medal in a New World record time (and the first British Swimming Gold Medallist for 32 years). She also went on to be the first athlete in any sport to hold the Olympic, Commonwealth and European gold medals at the same time.
Judy retired at her peak and went on to report on the 1960 Rome Olympics for the Daily Express.
She married her first husband, sports journalist Patrick Rowley, in 1960, and retired from the limelight, they had two children, Keith and Alison. Judy later divorced and remarried Michael Roe, and moved to Cornwall. She was widowed in 2010 and now lives in Hertfordshire and spends her time enjoying her extended family, she has five grandchildren and five step-grandchildren.
Judy Grinham - Achievements
1955
Hounslow Swimming Club Birthday Gala
Broke British Native, English, Southern Counties and Middlesex record for 100 yards backstroke - 1 min 6.3 seconds
G.B. v. Germany, Aberdeen (First representative of country – aged 16)
2nd – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 min 14.7 seconds
N.B. Judy was taking her GCSE’s either side of this international
Middlesex County Championships
1st - 100 metres Backstroke – 1 min 15.6 seconds
Denmark v. England, Aalbourg
Six-cornered International Moscow.
1st – 100 metres Backstroke – 1. Min 14.7 seconds
National Championships, Blackpool
1st - 110 yards backstroke
1956
G.B. v. France, Birmingham
Broke British record.
Grand Prix de Paris
1st – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 min 13.4 seconds
G.B. v. Netherlands, Coatbridge
1st – 100 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 6.8 seconds
National Championships, Blackpool
1st - 110 yards backstroke - 1 minute 14.5 seconds
'Olympic Games, Melbourne, Australia, 1956
1st – Gold Medal - 100 metres Backstroke Final – 1 minute 12.9 seconds – World & Olympic Record
FIRST SWIMMING OLYMPIC GOLD FOR 32 YEARS
8th - 100 metres Relay Final
Daily Express Sportswoman of the Year 1956
A.S.A. T.M. Yeadon Trophy, Swimmer of the Year.
President’s Plate, Middlesex County Swimming Association
1957
N.B. Swimming frontcrawl only, not backstroke, this year.
Germany v. G.B., Hildesheim (relay team only)
Broke Middlesex 100 yards freestyle record.
G.B. v. Holland, Blackpool'
Competed in individual and team frontcrawl events.
China v. England – 3 internationals in Peking, Shanghai and Canton
1st – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 minute 12.9 seconds
National Championships, Blackpool
1st – 220 yards Front Crawl
2nd – 110 yards Front Crawl
1957
Individual tour of South Africa, including South African Championships
South African Tour
Johannesburg - 1st – 150 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 49.4 seconds
Cape Town - 1st – 100 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 6.3 seconds
SA Championships
1st – 100 yards Backstroke
2nd – 100 yards Freestyle – 59.4 seconds
1st - 220yards Freestyle – 2 mins 28.3 seconds
1958
G.B. v. Germany, Cardiff
2nd – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 minute 15.3 seconds
G.B. v. Holland, Blackpool
2nd – 100 metres Backstroke – 1 minute 13.6 seconds
Southern Counties Championship – London
1st – 100 yards Backstroke – 1 minute 4.8 seconds
1958 British Empire Commonwealth Games, Cardiff
'1st - 110 yards Backstroke - 1min 11.9 seconds - World, & Commonwealth Record
1st - Medley Relay Team - 4 min 54.0 seconds - World Record
3rd - 4 x 110 yards Relay
National Championships, Blackpool
1st - 110 yards backstroke
1st - 110 yards frontcrawl
1958 European Championships, Budapest
1st - 100 metres Backstroke Final – 1 min 12.6 seconds (European Record)'
3rd - Women’s 100 metres Freestyle Final – 65.4 seconds
2nd - 100 metres Relay
3rd - Medley Relay Team
'Daily Express Sportswoman of the Year 1958
First athlete in any sports to win and hold Olympic, Commonwealth and European Gold Medals at the same time.
1960
Retired from competitive swimming. Covered 1960 Rome Olympics as journalist for The Daily Express.
1981
Honoured in the Swimming Hall of Fame, Florida
2006
Awarded MBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours
Other Achievements
- Swimming coach for Hampstead Ladies Swimming Club, Ruislip/Northwood Swimming Club.
- Appeared in film ‘Operation Bullshine’
- Waxwork model- Madame Tussauds
- Worked for the Daily Express for 2 years as swimming reporter, covered 1960 Rome Olympics
- Barnardo’s for almost 15 years as Field Fundraiser, National Trainer and Head of Appeals Training
- Abbeyfield Society
- Samaritans
- Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, St. Austell.
- Member of Eastcote Hockey Ladies 1st XI that won the Middlesex County Championships x 2