Invitation to celebrate the Life of Linda McGill

SHE swam beyond boundaries, across oceans, through history and into legend.

On Monday December 17, the swimming community will honour the late Linda McGill – the Olympic trailblazer and pioneer would have turned 80 on the same day.

McGill had a lifelong love of water and this love was fearless, becoming the first Australian male or female to swim the English Channel.

The 1964 Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist died on the Gold Coast, at the age of 79 earlier this year after a battle with emphysema, a chronic lung condition.

Former teammate and Olympic legend Dawn Fraser remembered McGill as “a good friend, loyal team member, an amazing human, champion swimmer in the pool and the open water who contributed so much in a life well lived.”

McGill (4 years) and Fraser (10 years) both received bans for marching in the Opening Ceremony of the 1964 Olympics after being ordered not to in order to preserve energy for racing.

In – and out – of the water McGill lived large, please feel free to come and share a story on December 17 and celebrate the one of the swimming community’s true pioneers, details in the attached flyer here.