Elenor Gordon

{{Short description|Scottish swimmer, Olympic bronze medallist (1933–2014)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}} {{Infobox swimmer | name = Elenor Gordon | image = Elenor Gordon 1950.jpg | image_size =  | alt = | caption = Gordon at the 1950 British Empire Games | fullname = Helen Orr Gordon | nicknames = "Elenor" | national_team = {{GBR2}} | strokes = Breaststroke | club = Hamilton Baths | coach = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|5|10|df=y}} | birth_place = Hamilton, Scotland<ref name="sr">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417170019/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/go/elenor-gordon-mckay-1.html Elenor Gordon-McKay]. sports-reference.com</ref> | death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|7|5|1933|5|10|df=y}} | death_place = Wishaw, Scotland | height =  | weight =  | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry | {{GBR}} }} {{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }} {{MedalBronze | 1952 Helsinki | 200 m breaststroke }} {{MedalCountry | {{SCO}} }} {{MedalCompetition | British Empire and Commonwealth Games }} {{MedalGold | 1950 Auckland | 220 yd breaststroke }} {{MedalGold | 1954 Vancouver | 220 yd breaststroke }} {{MedalGold | 1954 Vancouver | 3×110 yd medley }} {{MedalBronze | 1950 Auckland | 3×110 yd medley }} }}

'''Helen Orr "Elenor" Gordon''' (later '''McKay'''; 10 May 1933 – 5 July 2014) was a Scottish breaststroke swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics, and Scotland at the 1950 and 1954 British Empire Games. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the 200-metre breaststroke in 1952 and three gold medals at the British Empire Games.<ref name="sr" />

==Early life== Gordon was born in Hamilton, Scotland. Gordon's mother, father and three daughters lived in a room and kitchen with an outside toilet opposite Hamilton police station. Her mother worked by taking in washing from the police station.<ref name="heraldscotland.com">{{Cite web|title=Decades on, swimmer's Olympic and Commonwealth medal feats have never been matched . . .|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/13144151.decades-swimmers-olympic-commonwealth-medal-feats-never-matched/|access-date=2021-07-31|website=HeraldScotland|date=5 February 2014 |language=en}}</ref> She learnt to swim at Hamilton Baths, where her father Gavin Gordon worked as a lifeguard. She was also part of the swimming team coached by David Crabb at the Motherwell Baths.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Thomson|first=Robert|date=17 October 2014|title=Elenor Gordon wins first Scottish Commonwealth gold 1950|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0070/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022220856/http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/asportingnation/article/0070/ |archive-date=22 October 2014 |access-date=2020-07-31|website=BBC - A Sporting Nation}}</ref> Her training had been restricted to 20-minute sessions at Hamilton where 90% of pool time was reserved for males.<ref name="heraldscotland.com"/> She had to compete for space with children learning to swim. Gordon remembered rationing in post-war Britain as a teenager. One of her memories was "queuing for hours in Hamilton after the war, and you were restricted to four apples when you got to the head of the queue."<ref name="heraldscotland.com"/> When she traveled for her competitions the family had to hand in their rationing books so that they were not given a surplus of food.

== Swimming career == From 1947 until 1957 Gordon was the Scottish champion in the 200-metre breaststroke. In 1948, aged 15, she was the youngest member of the 1948 British Olympic team. In 1949 she competed in the British Empire Games in New Zealand.<ref name=":0" />

In 1950 she received the Nancy Riach memorial medal for her services to swimming. She won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, the only British medalist in swimming. In 1954, she won two medals at the Commonwealth Games in Vancouver.<ref name=":0" />

In 2014<ref name="heraldscotland.com"/> she reflected on this time "It feels like it all didn't happen to me," she said. "Swimming really is a different world today. I don't know whether I feel sorry or happy for these folk winning medals now. I don't really think they mean as much. It is different kettle of fish, going away to New Zealand and Australia now. They don't blink an eye, going away training somewhere for a month, and then they are back and off somewhere else. It's just not the same, but I would not swap places. Maybe we had the better of the travel, compared to flying today - taking six weeks by boat, and not being jet-lagged.

At the ASA National British Championships she won the 220 yards breaststroke title five times in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955 and 1956.<ref>{{cite news|title="Swimming." Times, 31 July 1950, p. 7|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS118442751/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=eb432789|newspaper=The Times| date=31 July 1950 | page=7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title="Swimming." Times, 27 Aug. 1951, p. 8|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS134827291/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=7aaf9004|newspaper=The Times| date=27 August 1951 | page=8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title="Swimming." Times, 27 Sept. 1952, p. 9|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS151605051/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=229b9619|newspaper=The Times| date=27 September 1952 | page=9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title="British Swimming Best Since War." Times, 5 Sept. 1955, p. 13|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS218584357/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=ceb5b7c2|newspaper=The Times|date=5 September 1955|page=13}}{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title="Olympic Swimming Selections." Times, 10 Sept. 1956, p. 12|newspaper=The Times|date=10 September 1956|page=12|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS202069802/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=84d43e6c|publisher=Times Digital Archive}}{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

Gordon retired from competitions after the 1956 Summer Olympics to raise a family. Besides, the Scottish Swimming Association revoked her amateur status after she accepted a 5-pound fee for a television appearance. She resumed competing in the 1990s, as a master swimmer, winning world titles and setting world records in the over 60 age group.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Vallance|first=Matt|date=11 July 2014|title=Obituary: Helen Orr "Elenor" Gordon-McKay, Olympic swimmer|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-helen-orr-elenor-gordon-mckay-olympic-swimmer-1531912|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-07-31|website=The Scotsman|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Helen Orr GORDON-MCKAY|url=https://olympics.com/es/atletas/helen-orr-gordon-mckay|access-date=2021-07-31|website=Olympics.com}}</ref>

She was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elenor/Helen Gordon {{!}} Scottish Swimming|url=http://www.scottishswimming.com/compete/halloffame/elenorhelen-gordon.aspx|access-date=2021-07-31|website=www.scottishswimming.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Reporting == After leaving swimming she wrote a weekly column for the Daily Express and Evening Citizen in Glasgow.<ref name="heraldscotland.com"/>

== Personal life == Gordon was married to fellow swimmer Ken McKay for 59 years, after meeting the pool at Hamilton Grammar when McKay was a pupil there. Gordon's husband of 59 years won 168 Scottish masters titles, 40 British titles, and five world golds, setting 10 world records and later became her carer.<ref name="heraldscotland.com"/> They had two sons, Colin and Allan and four granddaughters.<ref name="Dunnett">{{Cite web|last=Dunnett|first=Julie|date=2014-07-12|title=Hamilton Olympic swimmer Elenor Gordon McKay dies aged 81|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/hamilton-olympic-swimmer-elenor-gordon-3839083|access-date=2021-07-31|website=Daily Record|language=en}}</ref> She was a secretary and a sport reporter, covering swimming for two Scottish newspapers.<ref name=":1" /> Towards the end of her life, Gordon used a wheelchair due to a degenerative spinal condition.<ref name="sr" /> Gordon was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003,<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Elenor Gordon|url=http://www.sshf.sportscotland.org.uk/inductees/g-k/elenor-gordon/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812021815/https://sshf.sportscotland.org.uk/inductees/g-k/elenor-gordon/ |archive-date=12 August 2020 |access-date=2020-07-31|website=Scottish Sports Hall of Fame|language=en}}</ref> and into the Scottish Swimming Hall of Fame in 2010.<ref name="Scottish Swimming 2014">{{cite web | title=Elenor Gordon: Scotland's first female Commonwealth Games champion has died | website=Scottish Swimming | date=9 July 2014 | url=http://www.scottishswimming.com/newsroom/news/2014/07/elenor-gordon-scotlands-first-female-commonwealth-games-champion-has-died.aspx | access-date=13 April 2019}}</ref> She died on 5 July 2014 at the age of 81, following a long battle against ill health<ref>{{Cite web|title=Obituary: Helen Orr "Elenor" Gordon-McKay, Olympic swimmer|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-helen-orr-elenor-gordon-mckay-olympic-swimmer-1531912|access-date=2021-07-31|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en}}</ref> in Wishaw.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/commonwealth-games/cwg-news/death-of-elenor-gordon-scotlands-greatest-female-commonwealth-games-comp.24705027|title=Death of Elenor Gordon, Scotland's greatest female Commonwealth Games competitor|date=9 July 2014|work=Scottish Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Helen Orr 'Elenor ' Gordon|url=https://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst2175.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-07-31|website=The Gazetteer for Scotland|language=en-gb}}</ref> Her funeral was held at the Daldowie Crematorium.<ref name="Dunnett"/>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons category|Elenor Gordon}} * {{World Aquatics|name=Elenor Gordon}} * {{Scottish Sports Hall of Fame|elenor-gordon}} * {{Team GB|name=Elenor Gordon-McKay}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155751/http://www.olympics.org.uk/athleterecord.aspx?at=1393 archive]) * {{Olympedia|name=Elenor Gordon-McKay}} * {{Olympics.com|name=Helen Orr Gordon-McKay}} * {{Commonwealth Games Federation|name=Helen O. Gordon}} * [http://www.Historic-Hamilton.co.uk Historic Hamilton]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Elenor}} Category:1934 births Category:2014 deaths Category:Scottish female breaststroke swimmers Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Scotland Category:Commonwealth Games swimmers for Scotland Category:Scottish Olympic competitors Category:Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Category:Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Category:Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Category:Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Category:Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Category:British female breaststroke swimmers Category:Swimmers at the 1950 British Empire Games Category:Swimmers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Category:Sportspeople from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Category:Place of death missing Category:Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Category:Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games Category:Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Category:20th-century Scottish sportswomen