It was 50 years ago this week that West Vancouver native Elaine Tanner made Canadian sports history, winning three medals at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City.
The 17-year-old swimmer, known as Mighty Mouse for her small stature and intense training regime, became the first Canadian woman ever to win an Olympic swimming medal and the first Canadian ever to win three medals in a single Olympic Games. Her three medals – including silvers in the 100- and 200-metre backstroke and bronze in the 4x100-m freestyle relay – made up 60 per cent of the entire medal haul for Canada at the 1968 games.
Other highlights of her career include setting five career world records, winning four gold medals and three silvers at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, winning two golds and three silvers at the 1967 Pan American Games, and earning the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete in 1966. She was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1969 and inducted in Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1971. The Elaine Tanner Award is presented annually to Canada’s junior female athlete of the year at the Canadian Sport Awards.
Tanner now lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, John Watt. She was recognized in a ceremony during Saturday's Vancouver Canucks game at Rogers Arena.
