Ethel Scott (22 October 1907 – 1984) was the first black woman to represent Great Britain in an international athletics competition and specialised as a sprinter.

Biography

Scott was born on 22 October 1907; she was the daughter of Jane (née Pilgrim) and David Emmanuel Scott. She had two brothers, Richard Walter and George Alexander, and one sister, Margery Gladys. Her father served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but was killed in an accident on HMS Hogue in August 1914, at age 49. Scott was part of the Middlesex Ladies' Athletics Club. Scott finished second behind Ivy Walker in the 100 yards event at the 1929 WAAA Championships, where Walker set a national record of 11.4 seconds. On 30 August 1930, Scott set a personal best for the 60 metres at a track meet in Mitcham, London. Her time of 7.8 seconds was 2 tenths of a second off the world record of 7.6 seconds; it equalled the current British record, which had been set in 1922 by Mary Lines. Scott is 39th on a list of the top performers in this event before 1940.Eric L. Cowe, International Women's Athletics 1890-1940: A Statistical History (Bingley, 1985), pp. 5, 9, 80. It is believed that her best time for the 100 yards of 11.1 seconds was set in 1930 at a meet in Arras, France. The highlight of Scott's athletic career came in September 1930, when she was one of fifteen athletes chosen to represent Britain at the

1930 Women's World Games The 1930 Women's World Games (Czech and Slovak III Ženské Světové Hry v Praze, French 3è Jeux Féminins Mondiaux ) were the third regular international Women's World Games, the tournament was held between September 6 - September 8

in Prague."Women's Team for World Games", The Times, 21 August 1930 The Women's World Games were created by

Alice Milliat Alice Joséphine Marie Milliat née Million (5 May 1884 – 19 May 1957) was a pioneer of women's sport. Her lobbying on behalf of female athletes led to the accelerated inclusion of more women's events in the Olympic Games. A member of Fémi ...

as an alternative to the Olympics, which at that time included only a limited program of events for women. Scott competed in the 60m sprint and the 4x100 relay. She won her heat in the first round of the 60 metre sprint on 6 September, beating

Lisa Gelius Lisa Gelius (23 July 1909 in Munich – 14 January 2006 in Kreuth) was a German versatile athlete. Biography Born in Munich, in 1909, she would compete in the 60 meters, 100 meters, 80 meters hurdles and javelin throw in the 1932 Olympics. Ge ...

of Germany in a photo finish in front of an audience of 15,000. However, she made little impression in the final on the following day, finishing out of the top six places. Her competitors included many of the most successful sprinters of the pre-1940 era: Stella Walasiewicz (POL),

(GER),

Kinue Hitomi was a Japanese track and field athlete. She was the world record holder in several events in the 1920s – 1930s and was the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal. She was also the first woman to represent Japan at the Olympics. Biogra ...

(JAP), Ivy Walker (GB) and

Marguerite Radideau Marguerite Radideau (5 March 1907 – 14 March 1978) was a French sprinter and basketball player who participated in early women's international competitions. She won two gold, one silver, and one bronze at the 1926 Women's World Games and compe ...

(FRA)."The Women's Olympiad", The Times, 8 September 1930. The British 4x100 relay team, consisting of Ethel Scott, Ivy Walker, Eileen Hiscock and Daisy Ridgley, was more successful. The team completed their qualifying heat on 7 September in 49.7 seconds, and took the silver medal in the final the following day despite a time of 50.5 seconds.Eric L. Cowe, Early women's athletics: statistics and history (Bingley: c1999), pp. 112-13. After the completion of the Women’s World Games, Scott and Ivy Walker travelled on to Berlin for another track meet, where they competed with two other British women as the “London Team”. The others were F. Latham and Muriel Cornell. This combination performed even better at Berlin, obtaining a time of 49.3 seconds in the 4x100 relay on 13 September 1930. In May 1932, Scott won the Essex 100 yards Championship in a time of 12.3-5sec. Scott attended the

1938 European Athletics Championships The 2nd European Athletics Championships was a continental athletics competition for European athletes which was held in two places in 1938. The men's event took place in Paris, France between 3–5 September while the women's events were in Vie ...

in Vienna. Scott worked in the Civil Service and as a Medical Secretary until her retirement. She never married or had children and she died in 1984.

References

External links

Athlete profile
from site ''Track and Field Statistics'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Ethel 1907 births 1984 deaths Black British sportswomen British female sprinters English female sprinters 20th-century English sportswomen