Karen Muir
 Karen Muir in 1967 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Karen Muir |
| National team |  South Africa |
| Born | 16 September 1952 Kimberley, Cape Province, Union of South Africa |
| Died | 1 April 2013 (aged 60) Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Backstroke |
Karen Muir (16 September 1952 – 1 April 2013)[1][2] was a South African competitive swimmer. Born and raised in Kimberley, she attended the Diamantveld High School, where she matriculated in 1970.[3]
Biography
On 10 August 1965, aged twelve years, Muir became the youngest person to break a sporting world record in any discipline when she swam the 110 yards backstroke in 1m 08.7s at the ASA National Junior Championships in Blackpool, England.[4][5][6]
Over the following five years Muir would go on to set fifteen world records in the backstroke at 100 metres, 200 metres, 110 yards, and 220 yards.[7] She also won 22 South African Championships and three US National Championships.[8] Due to the sporting boycott of South Africa during her active career, she was never able to participate in an Olympic Games.[8]
Muir was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1980. After retiring from her sport, she qualified, through the University of the Orange Free State,[3] as a doctor and practiced in the African continent.[8] Since 2000 she worked as a family physician in Vanderhoof, British Columbia, Canada.[1][9] During 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. On 19 January 2012, it was reported that the cancer had spread.[10]
Muir died of breast cancer at the age of 60 in Mossel Bay, South Africa on 1 April 2013.[1][2]
Kimberley's Olympic-sized swimming pool was named the Karen Muir Swimming Pool in honour of the young swimmer, who was nicknamed locally as the "Tepid Torpedo".[3] When Muir revisited the city in 2009 she donated her Springbok blazer to the Diamantveld High School.[3]
See also
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- World record progression 100 metres backstroke
- World record progression 200 metres backstroke
References
- ^ a b c Botha, André (2 April 2013). "Karen Muir sterf". Rapport (in Afrikaans). Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ^ a b Edmonds, Scott (2 April 2013). "Vanderhoof doctor, former South Africa swimming sensation Karen Muir dies of cancer". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Tributes pour in for Karen Muir", Diamond Fields Advertiser, 3 April 2013, p 4
- ^ History[permanent dead link], Swimming South Africa
- ^ "South Africa Swimmer, 12, Wins Third Title in Britain", The New York Times, 14 August 1965
- ^ "Karen Muir: She Just Goes Out and Swims", St. Petersburg Times, 15 August 1965
- ^ "Swimming in South Africa" Archived 8 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, SouthAfrica.net
- ^ a b c Karen Muir (RSA) – 1980 Honor Swimmer Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, International Swimming Hall of Fame
- ^ Clarke, Ted. "Doc makes splash at Citizen Iceman". Prince George Citizen. Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
- ^ André Botha (17 January 2012). "Karen Muir veg nou om haar lewe" Archived 26 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. volksblad.com (in Afrikaans)
External links
Media related to Karen Muir at Wikimedia Commons
- 1952 births
- 2013 deaths
- South African female backstroke swimmers
- Sportspeople from Kimberley, Northern Cape
- World record setters in swimming
- Deaths from breast cancer
- Deaths from cancer in South Africa
- White South African people
- South African people of British descent
- 20th-century South African women
- 21st-century South African women