Faith Yvonne LEECH

Faith Leech took up swimming as a way to help her recover from scoliosis. At age 12 she recorded 1:07.1 for 110 yds, said to be the fastest ever at the time for somebody that age. She won two titles at the Victorian Championships in 1955 and at age 13 won the 1955 Australian title in the 110 yard freestyle. In 1956 she could not swim in the nationals because of illness, but won the Australian age group 100 m title that year in 1:04.6, only 1/10th of a second off Dawn Fraser’s world record. Leech trained sparingly, never covering more than 3 km a day, but her technique was so smooth that she was nicknamed the “Flying Fish.” Leech retired from swimming in 1957, at age 16, after a very short career and on doctor’s advice, because of the great anxiety she felt before any competition. She then worked as a model before returning to her native Bendigo where she ran the family jewelry business. She also helped teach disabled children to swim.