Margaret Girvan

Margaret Girvan
Girvan at the 1950 British Empire Games
Personal information
NationalityBritish (Scottish)
Born(1932-10-02)2 October 1932
Died7 January 1979(1979-01-07) (aged 46)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, backstroke
ClubMotherwell WP & ASC
Medal record
Representing  Scotland
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place1950 Auckland3×110 yd medley
Gold medal – first place1954 Vancouver3×110 yd medley
Bronze medal – third place1954 Vancouver440 yd freestyle

Margaret Therese Girvan (2 October 1932 – 7 January 1979) was a Scottish swimmer who competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics and two Commonwealth Games.

Biography

As a schoolgirl in 1944, Girvan won the Motherwell & Wishaw Schools 50 Yards Girls’ Championship.

She represented the Scottish team at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, where she won the bronze medal in the 3×110 yd medley relay with Elenor Gordon and Betty Turner.

Girvan competed for Great Britain in the 400 metre and 4 × 100 metres freestyle events at the 1956 Olympics and reached the final in the relay. She represented Scotland at the British Empire Games in 1950, 1954 and 1958 and won one gold and two bronze medals. She won the 1956 ASA National Championship 440 yards freestyle title.

References

  1. ↑ "Girvan, Margaret Therese". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. 11 January 1979. p. 15. Retrieved 1 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  2. ↑ "Motherwell's Olympian Swimmers – CultureNL Museums". www.culturenlmuseums.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "CultureNL Museums". www.culturenlmuseums.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  4. ↑ "Scots Sports Team For Empire Games". Dundee Courier. 7 October 1949. Retrieved 12 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Commonwealth Games Medallists". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  6. ↑ Margaret Girvan, Olympedia
  7. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Margaret Girvan Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  8. ↑ ""McKechnie's Fine Swim." Times, 6 Sept. 1956, p. 3". The Times. Times Digital Archive. 6 September 1956. p. 3.