Helen Smart (nee Don-Duncan; 9 June 1981 – 12 August 2023) was an English competitive

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 ...

and

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

specialist.

Swimming career

Don-Duncan represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in the Olympics, FINA world championships, and European championships, and swam for England in the Commonwealth Games. At the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, Australia, she came 15th in the women's 200-metre backstroke. Don-Duncan 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 ...

and won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

in the 200 backstroke metres event, at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia. At the ASA National British Championships, she won four consecutive 200 metres backstroke titles (in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000).

Post-swimming career

After retiring from competitive swimming following the Sydney Olympics, Don-Duncan moved into education, becoming the headteacher of

Worsley Mesnes Worsley Mesnes () is a suburb (Better known as an estate) of Wigan in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The ward population at the 2011 census was 11,974. Transport Worsley Mesnes Drive is the main road through ...

Community Primary School in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, a position she held for the rest of her life.

Personal life

Don-Duncan was married and had two children.

Death

Don-Duncan died on 12 August 2023, at the age of 42. The family had been on holiday in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Don-Duncan, Helen 1981 births 2023 deaths Sportspeople from Wigan Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) English female backstroke swimmers British female backstroke swimmers Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Women heads of schools in the United Kingdom 21st-century English women educators 21st-century English educators 21st-century English sportswomen 20th-century English sportswomen