Faith Leech
Leech at 1956 Olympics
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Faith Yvonne Leech | |||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "Flying Fish" | |||||||||||||||
| National team |
 Australia
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| Born |
31 March 1941 Bendigo, Victoria |
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| Died | 14 September 2013 (aged 72) Bendigo, Victoria |
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| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Faith Yvonne Leech (31 March 1941 – 14 September 2013) was an Australian freestyle swimmer who won a gold medal in the 4×100–metre freestyle relay and bronze in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
A tall and lean swimmer known for her elegant technique, Leech started swimming as a child to build strength after a series of stomach disorders in her infancy. She quickly rose to prominence after breaking a string of age group records. In 1955, she became the youngest swimmer to win an Australian title, claiming victory in the 110-yard freestyle at the age of 13. She twice broke the Australian record in the 100-yard freestyle in late 1955, thereby positioning herself as a leading contender for Olympic selection in 1956. Leech's preparation was hindered by illness, which forced her out of the 1956 Australian Championships, but she recovered to gain Olympic selection in both the 100-metre freestyle and the corresponding relay. Leech produced a late surge to take bronze in the individual event and seal an Australian trifecta, before swimming the second leg in the relay to help secure an Australian victory in world record time. Leech retired after the Olympics at the age of 15; she cited anxiety caused by racing as one of the main factors in her decision.
The second child of Johnstone Melmore and Jessie Francis Leech, Leech was born in the inland regional Victoria town of Bendigo in Australia. Leech was given the name Faith after her elder sister, who died from leukaemia at the age of two. As a delicate child, Leech had an aversion to eating in the first two years of her life, so her mother fed her in small hourly doses. Leech was twice rushed from the family home to a Melbourne] hospital. Conventional medicine failed to rectify Leech's dietary issues, so her mother put her on a fast for ten days at the recommendation of a naturopath. Leech was later placed on a diet of fruit, salad and vegetables, with an emphasis on beetroot juice and carrot juice.
Leech's health improved, but she remained slight and frail, with a double curvature of the back. In an effort to help her gain muscle control and confidence, her parents sent her to start ballet dancing, before trying swimming, a sport her mother had competed in. Aged six, she was taken to swimming classes while the family holidayed in the Mornington Peninsula. Leech was coached by Gus Froelich, a former European swimming champion and coach of Australian Olympic medallist Judy-Joy Davies. After a difficult start, Leech improved in her second year. At the Victorian Championships, she showed her potential by setting a state record of 17.4 seconds (s) for the 25-yard freestyle in the under-8 division. The following year, she covered 25 yards in 15.7 seconds, three seconds faster than Davies had done at the same age. She progressed steadily, sweeping the state age titles from nine to 13, setting records that were often faster than those by boys of the same age.
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