Shelagh Ratcliffe

Despite being born on the Isle of Man, Shelagh Ratcliffe spent many years in Liverpool, where her family moved when she was a youngster. She developed her swimming skills with the Everton Swimming Club. As a 13-year-old in 1965 she won the Liverpool and District girls’ 110 yards freestyle title and then won the Lancashire title. The following year Ratcliffe made her Great Britain début against Sweden at Wigan. She also won the first of 35 Northern Counties titles.

At the national championships at Blackpool in 1967, Ratcliffe made history when, in the final of the girls’ 220 yards, she shared the title with Sue Williams in the first ever dead-heat in an ASA final. In addition to sharing the girl’s 220 title that year, Ratcliffe also won the senior ASA 220 and 440 yards individual medley titles. She won both events four years in succession, 1967-70, and was also the 220 freestyle champion in 1969.

Ratcliffe competed at the 1968 Mexico and 1972 München (Munich) Olympics. She reached three finals at Mexico, and after being disqualified for missing a turn in the 200 individual medley went on to finish fifth in the 400 IM and seventh with the GB 4x100 free relay team. Four years later, Ratcliffe only took part in the two individual medley races but failed to reach a final. She nearly missed the 1972 Games after refusing an inoculation, which the ASA said all swimmers competing abroad needed. Eventually, they changed their mind, and Ratcliffe went to the Games.

Despite not winning an Olympic medal, Ratcliffe won two medals at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, with silver in the 200 metres medley and bronze in the 400. Six weeks later at the European Championships in Barcelona she won two bronze medals in the individual medley events.

In the international against Hungary at Budapest in 1968, Ratcliffe broke both the 200 and 400 metres individual medley British records in successive days. After going to Santa Clara, California, USA on a Churchill Scholarship in 1970/71, Ratcliffe lowered both the 200 and 400 records multiple times, taking the 400 down to 5:15.40 at Los Angeles in August 1971.

Ratcliffe announced her retirement from competitive swimming in February 1973 at the age of 21 to concentrate on the arts and crafts business that she had established with former swimmer, and fellow 1972 Olympian, Clive Rushton.

In 2015 while enjoying a leisurely swim in a lido at Newquay, Cornwall, Ratcliffe suffered a cardiac arrest and was assisted by an off-duty lifeguard before being airlifted to hospital. Fortunately, she made a full recovery.