Lena Jordan

Jordan started doing gymnastics in the Russian Empire (now Latvia) in 1892.^[1] She initially worked for the Flying Jordans circus. It was claimed that she performed a triple somersault during a routine in the US in 1896, although this has not been officially recognised.^[2] In May 1897, Jordan, aged 16, became the first recorded person to perform a triple somersault during a routine in Sydney, Australia.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Jordan later joined the Barnum & Bailey Circus, during which time she performed the triple somersault 28 times.^[5] For many years, Ernest Clarke was wrongly attributed as performing the first recorded triple somersault. However, he first performed a triple somersault in 1909, 12 years after Jordan. In 1975, the Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged Jordan as the record holder.^[4][5]