Sandra Keen

Had she not been an outstanding swimmer, West Drayton´s Sandra Keen could well have carved out a career as an athlete because she was an excellent sprinter and javelin thrower. Keen chose swimming, however, and became a member of the famous Heston club in London, where she won many Middlesex and Southern Counties titles, mostly at butterfly and freestyle. After finishing third behind Diana Wilkinson and Linda Amos in the 1962 ASA 110 yards freestyle, 15-year-old Keen was called up for the England team at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Perth, Australia, where she won a bronze medal in the 4x110 yards freestyle relay with Wilkinson, Amos, and Liz Long.

The highlight of Sandra Keen´s swimming career was being the anchor for the British quartet of herself, Jill Norfolk, [Diana Harrris[(), and Glenda Phillips that set a new 4x110 yards medley relay world record of 4:43.4 in the GB v Russia match at Blackpool in April 1964. Unfortunately, at the Olympics six months later, Keen suffered from a slight kidney infection and, not feeling her best, failed to qualify for both the individual 100 freestyle and freestyle sprint relay final.