Zandra Nowell

Zandra Nowell took up skiing at the age of nine. She was also an exponent of water skiing and, as a youngster, took part in the 1954 Junior British Tennis Championships at Wimbledon.

Selected for the 1956 Cortina Winter Olympics, Nowell went to the Games having just finished second to Sue Holmes in the British Women’s Ski Championship. Unfortunately for Nowell, she had to miss the first event in Cortina, the giant slalom, as she was confined to her bed with influenza. She recovered in time to compete in both the slalom and downhill and was the best-placed Briton in both events. When she embarked on her first run in the slalom, it was her first-ever international race, and at the end of it was lying in fifth place.

Despite never winning the British title she was runner-up for a second time in 1957 and again in 1959. In between she captained the British women’s team at the European Championships. She announced her retirement from competitive skiing in December 1959, five months after her marriage to Anthony Johnson.