1956 Olympic Games - Women's Freestyle Relay
1956 Melbourne Olympic Games bronze medal winners Susan Roberts, Jeanette Myburg, Natalie Myburgh, and Moira Abernethy, with manager/coach Alex Bulley. All four swimmers were coached in Johannesburg by Cecil Colwin.
Click here to see the results of that race.
- Jeanette Myburgh also swam in the semi-finals of the 100m freestyle, finishing 8th.
- Natalie Myburghmade finals of the 100m freestyle, finishing 8th, and swam the 400m freestyle but did not progress in that event.
- Moira Abernethy swam the 100m backstroke, finishing 6th in her heat.
- Sue is 7th in the semi-finals of the 100m freestyle, just ahead of Jeanette. In the 400m freestyle, she finished 4th in her heat.
As a schoolgirl, Susan Roberts was active in field hockey, tennis, lacrosse, and badminton, winning a Transvaal provincial junior title in the latter sport. It was swimming, however, where she excelled the most and she was selected to represent South Africa at the 1956 Summer Olympics after setting a national record in the 880-yard freestyle event while winning the South African title.
Natalie Myburgh was a young teen prodigy, representing South Africa at the 1954 British Empire Games when she was not yet 14 years old. She was the first woman to better the 1-minute barrier for 100 yards freestyle, and would later set South African records in the 100, 200, and 400 metre freestyles. She was very modest about her achievements in later life. Myburgh died at Knysna Private Hospital after a battle against cancer.
Moira Abernethy - or Mo Lamont, as she was known for many years while a swimming coach in Johannesburg, is the mother of Springbok swimmers Moira "Little Mo" Lamont and Ann Lamont. Little Mo was a backstroker, while Ann excelled in middle-distance freestyle events.
Jeanette Myburgh was born on September 16, 1940. She was a Western Province swimmer who came second in the 100m freestyle behind Natalie Myburgh of Transvaal at the 1956 South African championships. In her heat she broke Joan Harrison's SA record by 1,1 seconds. Sue Roberts finished third and Joan Harrison 4th.