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Lucy Morton
Lucy Morton (23 February 1898 – 26 August 1980), later known by her married name Lucy Heaton, was an English competition swimmer who represented Great Britain at the 1924 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke event.[1] Morton was born in 1898 at New Tatton in Cheshire; her father Alfred was in domestic service as a groom.[2] The family moved to Blackpool, and by the age of ten, Morton had joined the local amateur swimming club.[2] By 1920, Morton held the world record for the 200-yard breaststroke. In 1924, she was chosen to be part of the British team at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.[2] Morton won the women's 200-metre breaststroke race and became the first British woman to win an Olympic gold medal for swimming in an individual (non-relay) event.[2] At the time, she was working at the post office at St Annes.[3] Blackpool council opened her local swimming baths so that she could train before and after work.[3] On her return to the town, she was given a civic reception, where she was presented with the gift of a piano, and over ten thousand people lined the streets to greet her.[3] Morton retired from competitive swimming after the Olympics and married Harry Heaton in 1927.[2] She continued supporting swimming events for the rest of her life, serving as a competitors' steward when she was aged 72.[2] She died in Blackpool in 1980. She was inducted posthumously into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Pioneer Swimmer" in 1988.[4] A book based on her Olympic win and early life was published in June 2024, called Swim, written by Lisa Brace and published by Blue Pier Books. She is commemorated by a blue plaque on Blackpool Town Hall.[3] See also
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