Valerie Davies
Welsh swimmer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elizabeth Valerie Davies (29 June 1912 – 2 August 2001), later known by her married name Valerie Latham, was a Welsh competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1932 Summer Olympics.[2][3]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | British (Welsh) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 June 1912 Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 August 2001 (aged 89)[1] Newport, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, backstroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Roath Park SC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Swimming career
At only 15 she won secured a Welsh championship.[4] Throughout her teenage years she won multiple Welsh swimming records.[5][6][7] She also competed for Wales at the 1930 British Empire Games winning all three medals. She was awarded two silver medals in the 100 yards backstroke and the 400 yards freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100 yards freestyle. Four years later she won the bronze medal in the 100 yards backstroke event.[8][9][10] In 1931, she represented Britain in 2 events at the World's Swimming Championships.[11]
In the 1932 Olympics she won bronze medals in the 100 m backstroke event and in 4×100 m freestyle relay event and was third in her first round heat of 100 m freestyle event and did not advance.[12]
Personal life
Davies was born, 29 June 1912, in Cardiff.[13][14] She lived by Roath Park Lake, where she had to do most of her training, as at the time there wasn't a pool larger than 20-yards in the local area.[14] She married Ricki Latham, a pilot officer in the Auxiliary Air Force, in 1939.[15] She died in Newport, in August 2001.[13]
