Elaine Tanner

Last updated
Elaine Tanner
OC
Personal information
Full nameElaine Tanner-Watt
Nickname"Mighty Mouse"
National teamCanada
Born (1951-02-22) February 22, 1951 (age 74)
Vancouver, British Columbia
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight61 kg (134 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Backstroke, butterfly, freestyle
ClubCanadian Dolphins
Pacific Dolphins
Coach Howard Firby
(Candian Dolphins)
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1968 Mexico City 100 m backstroke
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1968 Mexico City 200 m backstroke
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg1968 Mexico City 4x100 m freestyle
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1967 Winnipeg 100 m backstroke
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1967 Winnipeg200 m backstroke
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1967 Winnipeg100 m butterfly
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1967 Winnipeg4×100 m freestyle relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1967 Winnipeg4×100 m medley relay
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1966 Kingston 110 yd butterfly
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1966 Kingston220 yd butterfly
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1966 Kingston440 yd individual medley
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg1966 Kingston4×110 yd freestyle relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1966 Kingston110 yd backstroke
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1966 Kingston220 yd backstroke
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg1966 Kingston4×110 yd medley relay

Elaine Tanner-Watt OC (born February 22, 1951) is a Canadian former competition swimmer. She is a triple Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in five events.

Contents

Tanner was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on February 22, 1951, to Ron and Edna Tanner. She learned to swim by five when the family moved to California. Returning to Vancouver at eight where she immediately joined the Vancouver's Canadian Dolphins Swimming Club, she competed and trained for Hall of Fame Coach Howard Firby. She credited Firby's knowledge of anatomy and kinetics with a rapid development in her speed, largely a result of Firby's skills in refining her stroke technique. His knowledge of swimming and skilled, and demanding training helped her refine her natural strength and power to become a champion. [1] [2]

Nicknamed "Mighty Mouse" [3] partly because of her small stature (standing barely five feet tall) and partly due to her competitive drive, Tanner had a large impact on Canadian swimming and is considered one of the top performers in the sport. [4]

International competition

During the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, Tanner won four gold medals and three silvers, becoming the first woman to ever win four golds at a Commonwealth Games and the first person to get seven medals in those games. [5] She won the Lou Marsh Trophy, recognizing her as Canada's best athlete in 1966 — the youngest person to ever receive the award — and was also selected as the country's top athlete overall. [6] The following year at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Tanner won two gold and three silver medals, breaking two world records in the process. [7]

She won the ASA National British Championships over 110 yards butterfly in 1965. [8]

1968 Olympics

Tanner arrived at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City as a heavy medal favorite. She won three Olympic medals in Mexico City, including two individual silver medals and one relay bronze. [7] After the Olympics, Tanner retired from competition at 18 years. [7]

Awards and accolades

In 1969, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971. [6] The Elaine Tanner Award has been presented to Canada's top junior female athlete since 1972. [9]

Personal life

Following the games, Tanner fell into a depression that lasted decades, developed a serious eating disorder, suffered anxiety attacks and had her first marriage end after 9 years in 1980, with two children that wound up going to the custody of the father in Prince George as Tanner remained in Vancouver. Roaming around Canada doing odd jobs and eventually having a failed second marriage that ended in 1987, [10] by 1988 she was living off her car, jobless, and feeling suicidal, but eventually found her footing again after meeting former lifeguard John Watt. She married him five years later, [11] and lives with him in White Rock, British Columbia. They have a charity organization, Team Underdog. [4]

In 1969-70, she briefly attended the University of Alberta, and in 1970 enrolled at the University of Calgary. In 1986, she graduated Simon Fraser University in greater Vancouver with a degree in kinesiology and began a career in holistic health. As of 2013, she practiced in Oakville, Ontario. [12] [13] [14]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ↑ Robertson, John, "Elaine Tanner", Star Weekly, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, August 19, 1967, pg. 2
  2. ↑ "McKintyre, Gordon, One B.C. Olympic star's journey to the deep end and back, Vancouver Sun, Times Colonist, July 28, 2024". timescolonist.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  3. ↑ "If dancing in parks were an Olympic event..." The Globe and Mail. September 16, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  4. 1 2 "Promise after a painful past". The Province. May 28, 2008. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Elaine Tanner profile at famouscanadianwomen.com". Archived from the original on May 1, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Canada Sports Hall of Fame Profile". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 "B.C.'s all-time sporting greats". The Vancouver Sun. November 18, 2008. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  8. ↑ "FROM A SWIMMING CORRESPONDENT. "Miss Long Sets Free-Style Records." Times, 14 Aug. 1965, p. 4". The Times. 14 August 1965. p. 4.
  9. ↑ "Elaine Tanner's life has come full circle". Oakville Beaver. March 28, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  10. ↑ Christie, James, "Olympic Pressure Takes Personal Toll: Loser Label Sticks 24 Years." The Globe and Mail, 23 July 1992
  11. ↑ Elaine Tanner: one athlete's 40-year recovery from Olympic heartbreak
  12. ↑ "Olympedia Biography, Elaine Tanner". olympedia.org. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  13. ↑ Vivone, Rich, "Introducing Howard Firby", Red Deer Advocate, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 1970, pg. 6
  14. ↑ Scott, Bob, "National Swimming Coach Says Moncton", The Times-Transcript, New Brunswick, Canada, August 28, 1970, pg. 14
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