Linda McGill MBE

born 1945

BiographyIn a swimming career that spanned four decades Linda McGill pioneered women's long distance swimming and produced championship performances in the pool at local club, state, national and international meets. She represented Australia at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth winning gold, silver and bronze medals.

After winning five national titles in three days McGill was automatically selected for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. During this meet she finished fifth in the individual medley breaking an Australian record. She was one of four women famously suspended from competitive swimming by the Amateur Swimming Union of Australia in 1965 for defying a ban on attending the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Five months after the suspension McGill became the first Australian to succeed in swimming the English Channel. She was also the first Australian to swim across Port Phillip Bay and the first person to swim around Hong Kong (1976) and Manhattan Island (1983).

Person TypeIndividual