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Today’s Doodle celebrates Sarah “Fanny” Durack, a titan in her sport who fought tirelessly for the right to represent her country on the world stage. In 1912 Fanny became the first Australian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming, going on to break every world record in women’s swimming from the 100-meter to the 1-mile.
Born in Sydney on October 27, 1889, Durack learned to swim with her two sisters at tidal pools near Coogee Beach. Winning her first championship at age 13, she went on to dominate the sport in Australia.
The 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm were the first to include women in swimming. Dismissing concerns about female athletes competing in front of male spectators, Durack and “Mina” Wylie petitioned the New South Wales Ladies Swimming Association to allow them to participate. Having set two world records that same year, Durack and her close runner-up Mina won the right to compete—but the Amateur Swimming Union would not pay the expenses for their trip to Sweden. They appeared at fundraisers to earn the money, letting no obstacle stop them from making a mark on the global stage.
A century later, Fanny Durack’s name lives on thanks to her commitment to the pursuit of excellence—and to gender equality in sports.
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