Eva Dawes (later ''Spinks'', September 17, 1912 – May 30, 2009) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

athlete who competed mainly in the high jump. She was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. She competed for Canada in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, United States in the high jump where she won the bronze medal. She also qualified for both the 1928 Summer Olympics but was, at 15, too young to go, and the 1936 Summer Olympics which she chose to boycott because they were held in Nazi Germany.Open Door: Olympic medal winner tells her story
/ref> At the 1934 Empire Games she won the silver medal in the high jump competition. Dawes moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1937 and married Arthur Spinks. She lived in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

until moving to

Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...

in 1969. She lived in the St. Helens retirement home from 2003 until her death. On 19 March 2000 Eva attended the book launch of 'A Proper Spectacle - Women Olympians 1900 - 1936' with other sportswomen from the 1920s and 1930s. She died on May 30, 2009, two weeks after a stroke.Eva Dawes obituary
/ref>

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1912 births 2009 deaths Athletes from Toronto Canadian female high jumpers Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games {{Canada-Olympic-medalist-stub