Eva Dawes began exercising as a child as a way to strengthen her body, describing herself as “I was not a particularly strong child.” Her father quickly realized her abilities in the high jump and built a landing pit at the nearby playground. She would eventually Canadian championships in the event, the first in 1926 when she was only 14 years old, and then consecutively from 1932-35. She also set three Canadian records in the high jump, the last set in winning her Olympic bronze medal in 1932. At the 1934 British Empire Games she won a silver medal. But in 1935 Dawes competed in the Soviet Union, after accepting an invitation, and was suspended by the Canadian AAU. She refused to apply for reinstatement, instead retiring from competition. But in 1936 she announced a personal boycott of the Nazi-supported Berlin Olympics. Instead, she decided to competed again to participate in the alternate Olympics scheduled that year in Barcelona, often called the People’s Olympic Games. But when war broke out in Spain, they returned to Paris and then to London, where they planned a voyage back to Canada. But Dawes met Arthur Spinks in London and would return to England in 1937 to marry him, and she lived the remainder of her life in Britain, although she and her husband travelled frequently.
Personal Best: HJ – 1.60 (1932).
Canada