Ann O'Connor

Like her husband, and fellow breaststroke swimmer, Liam Ball, Ann O’Connor went to the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. Also, like Ball, she never progressed beyond he first round in any of her races. O’Connor took part in the individual 100 and 200 in both 1968 and 1972, and at the second of those Games also competed in the 4x100 free rand 4x100 medley relays. At the 1970 European Championships at Barcelona, O’Connor finished sixth in 100 metres breaststroke final.

A member of the swimming club of the famous Arthur Guinness brewery, O’Connor went to her first Olympics with five national titles to her credit, as well as the Irish 100 metres record. The following year she went to Blackpool to compete in the 1969 British ASA Championships, when she won the 110 yards title and was second in the 220. After her competitive career O’Connor became a swimming teacher at a facility in Dublin.

O’Connor met her husband-to-be at the 1966 European Championships at Utrecht. They married in 1976 and in 1981 moved from Londonderry to Castlebar, Mayo, when her Ball took a job at a new swimming pool. Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, and in 1984 he died at the age of 33. They had three young daughters at the time.