Violet Walrond


Violet Ethel Mary Walrond was a New Zealand swimmer, who represented New Zealand at the 1920 Summer Olympics at Antwerp. She was New Zealand's first female Olympic athlete, and at 15 years 178 days, the youngest swimming competitor at the 1920 Olympics. Walrond competed in two events at the Olympics. In the 100 metre freestyle race she came 5th in the final after placing 3rd in her heat in a time of 1:21.4. In the 300 metre freestyle race she came 7th in the final after finishing second in her heat in 5:04.6. This is the only Olympics to have a 300 metres women's freestyle race as it was replaced in 1924 by the 400 metres freestyle. She used the crawl style.
Walrond's father, Cecil 'Tui' Walrond, was a noted swimmer who received a Royal Humane Society award for rescuing 11 people from drowning. He accompanied her to the Olympics as chaperone and unofficial team trainer. Violet and her younger sister Edna retired from competitive swimming in 1923 when Violet was 18. She later stated that they retired on orders from their father, as he felt that we were too much in the public eye. He also forbade them from cutting their long hair short.
She married Harold Robb in 1933, and died in 1996 aged 91, in Papakura, Auckland.