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Environment and Heritage

Sarah 'Fanny' Durack

First female Olympic swimming champion (1889–1956)

Autographed image of Fanny Durack, 1918.
Image Credit: Sears' Studios/National Museum of Australia
 

Location

80 Douglas Street, Stanmore NSW 2048

Stanmore is on the land of the Gadigal and Wangal people of the Eora nation.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible

About Sarah ‘Fanny’ Durack

The sporting world has long been dominated by rivalries that have captivated audiences and made for history making clashes. However, 100 years before we had Serena versus Venus, Kobe versus LeBron or Thorpie versus Phelps, we had Fanny versus Mina.

Sarah ‘Fanny’ Durack and Wilhelmina 'Mina' Wylie were born in North Sydney just 2 years apart. Though they had radically different starts to their swimming careers, fate would bring them together and create a story for the ages. The pair overcame many hardships to become the first Australian women Olympic champions and the first women in the world to win Olympic medals in swimming. Their remarkable story highlights the strength and resilience of pioneering female athletes.

Sepia-toned portrait of Fanny Durack seated on a rock by the seaside, wearing a dark one-piece swimsuit. Her right leg is crossed over her left knee, with her left hand holding her right foot and her right hand resting on the rock. Waves crash against the shore in the background. Text at the bottom reads: 'MISS FANNY DURACK. CHAMPION Amateur Lady Swimmer of the WORLD.'
Portrait of Fanny Durack, 1912.
Image Credit: Exchange Studios/National Library of Australia

Portrait of Fanny Durack, 1912

Catch me if you can

Born in 1889, Sarah ‘Fanny’ Durack’s swimming career started out quite differently from that of her later friend and rival Mina Wiley. Fanny started swimming at Coogee Baths at age 9 after struggling in the surf during a family holiday. Mostly self-taught, she showed an aptitude for the sport nearly immediately. At 11 she entered the NSW Championship 100-yard breaststroke – the only stroke women were permitted to compete in at the time. Though she finished last in that race she wasn’t deterred; rather, it ignited a passion in her to become the best swimmer she could be.

Over the following years, Mina and Fanny became close friends and training partners. Mina’s father encouraged them to innovate their swimming, working with them to perfect the stroke known as the ‘Australian crawl’ (now known colloquially as freestyle).

In 1906 she won her first state title and in the years to follow amassed numerous titles and unofficial world records in both national and Australasian championships. Having dominated Australian competitions, Fanny set her sights on recognition in the international arena. The announcement that the 1912 Stockholm Olympic games would feature the very first Olympic women’s swimming event provided the perfect motivation.

Swimming against the tide

Today, thousands of Sydneysiders flock to the beaches every day. However, in the early 1900s the increased interest in swimming clashed with ideas about ‘moral decency’. Lawmakers imposed various laws such as a ban on men and women swimming together. While the laws were soon abandoned, mixed bathing remained a controversial subject.

Rose Scott, the president of the NSW Ladies' Amateur Swimming Association (which Fanny and Mina were both members of), believed that men and women should not share a pool, and men should not watch women compete. While many disagreed with this position, the total lack of support from their home representative body put Fanny's and Mina’s Olympic campaigns in jeopardy.

When the 1912 Olympic team was announced, Fanny and Mina’s names were both absent. The Swimming Association said that this was because they could not afford to send female competitors. There was nationwide public outrage. Local and international publications ran stories urging the association to reconsider, and unsolicited donations from the public soon flooded in. Eventually the association relented, and Fanny and Mina formed the first Australian Olympic Ladies’ Swimming Team.

  • Black and white portrait of Fanny Durack wearing a sleeveless top decorated with numerous medals and a necklace featuring several hanging medals. Her hair is styled in an updo.
    Portrait of Fanny Durack with medals, circa 1912
    Portrait of Fanny Durack with medals, circa 1912.
    Image Credit: Alamy
  • Black and white photograph of Sarah 'Fanny' Durack standing outdoors with arms crossed. She is wearing a one-piece swimsuit and is barefoot. The background shows a beach scene with people, buildings, and benches.
    Australian Olympic swimmer Fanny Durack in 1918
    Australian Olympic swimmer Fanny Durack in 1918, who in 1912 was the first woman to win an Olympic medal.
    Image Credit: Bettmann/Contributor

Golden girl

Swimming in an unmarked pool – with no lane ropes and water so murky that the bottom of the pool was not visible – the women exceeded all expectations. Both Mina and Fanny won their respective heats – with Fanny breaking the 100 m world record in hers – and semi-finals. They even offered to swim 2 legs each so they could compete in the 4 x 100 m relay but were eventually refused permission.

The scene was set for an electric final. In the end, Fanny pipped Mina to take the 100 m freestyle gold, making her the first women in the world to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming.

Sepia-toned photograph of the Australasian Olympic Team at Stockholms Roddforening, 1912. The group includes 23 individuals posed on a wooden deck in front of a building with large wooden doors and a sign reading 'STOCKHOLMS RODDFORENING.' Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie are seated in the front left row. The men are dressed in blazers and ties, and the women wear dresses.
The Australasian Olympic Team at Stockholms Roddforening, Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie sitting in front left row, 1912.
Image Credit: Photographer unknown/Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, [SPG/102]

Australasian Olympic Team at Stockholms Roddforening, Fanny Durack and Mina Wylie sitting in front left row, 1912

Fanny and Mina arrived back to Australia triumphant. While the cancellation of the 1916 Olympics due to World War I prevented them from defending their Olympic titles, they continued their successes for several more years.

While the latter phase of Fanny’s career was unfortunately plagued by illness, between 1912 and 1918 she broke 12 world records and claimed many more national wins and titles. She retired formally from swimming in 1921 and devoted herself to coaching the next generation of swimmers. Fanny was made a life member of the NSW Women's Amateur Swimming Association in 1945 and was posthumously honoured by the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1967.

Fanny and Mina, who remained close friends for the remainder of their lives, were true trailblazers. They were instrumental in changing attitudes towards women’s sport and paved the way for the host of champion Australian women swimmers to follow.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, 112 years after Fanny and Mina’s Olympic debut, women claimed 6 out of Australia’s 7 gold medals for swimming.

Black and white photograph of Mina Wylie, Fanny Durack, and British swimmer Jennie Fletcher standing close together in swimsuits. They appear to be at a beach or swimming event, with a blurred background showing other people and possible structures in the distance.
Mina Wylie and Fanny Durack with British swimmer Jennie Fletcher. Date unknown.
Image Credit: National Museum of Australia

Mina Wylie and Fanny Durack with British swimmer Jennie Fletcher

References