Helen Don-Duncan

Specialising in the backstroke Helen Don-Duncan swam at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games before becoming a headteacher. Don-Duncan was the British national champion in the 200 metres backstroke from 1997 to 2000.

Don-Duncan’s first title was in the 200m backstroke at the European Junior championships in 1996. Two years later she won bronze in the same event at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. In the same year she won silver at the European short course championships in Sheffield, followed by another silver at the World short course championships in Hong Kong in 1999.

In her bid for qualification for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Don-Duncan set a British record in the 200 metres backstroke, and went on to reach the semi-finals at the Sydney Games. She retired from swimming shortly after the Olympics becoming a headteacher at a primary school in Wigan in the North-West of England. Sadly, Don-Duncan’s life came to a tragic end when she died in her sleep whilst on a family holiday in the Lake District. She was 42.