Catherine White (born 26 June 1965) is a former British

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who represented Great Britain at the

1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

and won a silver medal for England at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Early life

White was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. She was raised in

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit ...

, County Durham, and educated at

Barnard Castle School Barnard Castle School (colloquially Barney School or locally the County School) is a co-educational private day and boarding school in the market town of Barnard Castle, County Durham, in the North East of England. It is a member of The Head ...

International swimming career

At the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia, she represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke, where she finished seventh and sixth respectively. She teamed up with Ann Osgerby,

June Croft June Alexandra Croft (born 17 June 1963) is an English former freestyle swimmer. Swimming career Croft represented Great Britain at three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1980. At her Olympic debut in Moscow, she won the silver medal ...

and Susannah Brownsdon for the women's 4×100 m medley relay where they finished in silver medal position behind Canada and ahead of Scotland in a time of 4:19.04. At the

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States, she participated in the

100 m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and 200 m backstroke, reaching the 'B' final in both events. White swam for

in the same two events two years later at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland. She finished seventh in the 200 m backstroke final, but did not progress beyond the heats in the shorter event. She won 1982 and 1983 ASA National Championship titles in the 100 metres backstroke and the 200 metres backstroke.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Catherine 1965 births English female backstroke swimmers British female backstroke swimmers Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Swimmers from Portsmouth Living people People educated at Barnard Castle School Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Barnard Castle Sportspeople from County Durham 20th-century English sportswomen