Gillian Mary Donaldson (née Sheen; 21 August 1928 – 5 July 2021) was a British fencer and Olympic champion in foil competition. She won a gold medal in the women's individual foil event at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, wh ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. She also competed at the 1952 and

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Fencing career

Sheen first took up the sport while studying at North Forland School in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and won the schoolgirls title in 1945. In 1947, she took the Junior Championships and went to

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...

in London to become a

dental surgeon A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial com ...

. In 1949, she won her first senior national title and took the British Universities title for five consecutive years. In 1951, she won a gold medal at the World Universities Championships. Sheen participated in the 1952 Summer Olympics but was eliminated in the second round. She went back to the Olympics in 1956 and took the gold medal for Great Britain. She won with a classic technique in a period when advancing athleticism was changing the sport. The press hailed her as a middle-class figure and emphasized her age (28) and gender so that she was seen as a "dark horse" competitor. She participated at the

1950 World Fencing Championships The 1950 World Fencing Championships were held in Monte Carlo, Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on ...

in Monte Carlo, where she won a bronze medal in Team Foil with the British team. She represented

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 ...

and won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, e ...

in the individual foil at the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: T ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, Canada. Four years later she won the gold medal in the same event at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. She competed until 1963, winning her tenth and final British Championship in 1960.

Personal life

Sheen was born in

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has formed ...

in London on 21 August 1928. In 1962 she married Bob Donaldson, an American orthodontist, and moved to the United States. In 1966, she set up a dental and orthodontic practice with her husband in Auburn, NY, where she worked until her husband's death in 2004. She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to UK sport.

Death

Sheen died in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, ...

, on 5 July 2021, aged 92. She is survived by four children; her memorial service was held at the Episcopal Church of Saints Peter and John.

Books

* Sheen, Gillian (1958). ''Instructions to Young Fencers''. Museum Press. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheen, Gillian 1928 births 2021 deaths British female fencers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in fencing Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England English dentists English emigrants to the United States English fencers English Olympic medallists Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Members of the Order of the British Empire Olympic fencers of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in fencing People educated at Queen's College, London People from Willesden Sportspeople from London Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games