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Kōrero: Olympic and Commonwealth games

Violet Walrond, Antwerp, 1920

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Violet Walrond, Antwerp, 1920

Swimmer Violet Walrond gets set in lane three for the 100-metres final at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. Walrond was the first New Zealand woman to compete at the Olympic Games. She was only 15 years old at the time. Her father and coach, Cecil Walrond, ordered her to give up competitive swimming soon after her 18th birthday.

Image courtesy of the International Olympic Committee

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

New Zealand Olympic Museum – He Pataka Taumahekeheke, New Zealand Olympic Committee, Private collection

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Joseph Romanos, Olympic and Commonwealth games – The early days of the Olympics, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/37887/violet-walrond-antwerp-1920 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Joseph Romanos, i tāngia i te 14 November 2012, updated 1 June 2023.