Pauline Sillett

As youngsters, Pauline Sillett and her brother Peter were encouraged to swim by their father Len. From the age of 11, Pauline had the dream of competing in the Olympics Games and in 1962, at the age of 13, she broke the 60-second barrier for the 100 yards freestyle. That same year Peter was the 1962 ASA junior freestyle and butterfly champion. The siblings swam for the Radcliffe Swimming Club, where their father was a coach and later club president.

Having finished second in the the ASA 110 yards freestyle final in 1965, Pauline won the title in 1966 when she was also second in the 220. To round off a memorable season, Sillett won a gold medal in the 4x110 medley relay at the Kingston, Jamaica, British Empire and Commonwealth Games, when the quartet of Sillett, Linda Ludgrove, Diana Harris, and Judy Gegan broke the world record with a time of 4:40.6. Sillett also won bronze in the 4x110 freestyle relay and at that year´s European Championships at Utrecht won further bronze medals in both the 100 freestyle and 4x100 medley relay.

Sillett married county-level breaststroke swimmer Barry Pick in 1979 and later became a swimming co-ordinator and sport development officer for Stockport Council, and was also the ASA´s north-west regional development officer. In 1965 both Pauline and Peter Sillett were selected for their respective 100 metres freestyle events for Great Britain in the international against Sweden at Örebro.