Foster's Double Olympic Diary: 1936, 2012

Oct 23, 2012 - Craig Lord

News Round-Up:

Australia: Sally Foster, the breaststroke swimmer, is planning to pen a diary comparing her Olympic experience with that of her late aunt, Evelyn de Lacy, an Empire Games champion who raced in the 100m and 400m freestyle at the 1936 Games in Berlin as the Nazi nightmare reared its head on the way to World War II.

Foster, 27, has her own notes to work on - and the diaries of her aunt, Evelyn Rose de Lacy (later Whillier), who was born on November 21, 1917 and died on June 27 in 2004.

At 16, in December 1933, De Lacy set a Western Australian state record over 100-yard freestyle. At the Berlin Games in 1936, she was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100 and did not make the final of the 400. In 1938, she claimed the 110 yards freestyle Empire (later Commonwealth) Games crown.

Foster read De Lacy's diary several years ago and, encouraged by family, compiled her own diary each day in London.

"I knew about her (DeLacy) swimming at the Olympics fairly young but probably didn't take much notice of it really until I was about 14 or 15 and thought `wow, I'd love to do what she did'," Foster told the Messenger, a local paper in Australia.

"Leading up to London my fiance Andrew and my family really encouraged me to write a diary similar to hers so you could see the difference in the way things happen back then to now. She took six weeks on a boat travelling over to Europe, whereas I got on the plane and got over there within 40 hours.

"In the diary she mentions things like walking in the opening ceremony and being told everyone has to salute Hitler."

Sponsorship: Speedo has signed up Australian swimming star, Brittany Elmslie, as its latest brand ambassador, in a deal which will see the Olympic relay gold medallist (4x100m freestyle) compete in the company's kit through to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.