Pam Johnson

All-round swimmer Pam Johnson enjoyed a memorable year in 1964. Prior to turning 16 she had finished second to Pauline Sillett in 110 yards girls´ freestyle final at the ASA championships and made her international début. She then finished second to Diana Wilkinson in the ASA 110 yards freestyle and also went to the Tokyo Olympics.

A member of the Bramley Swimming Club in Leeds, Johnson was invited to join Leeds Central, a new “Super Club” formed just before the Tokyo Olympics with the intention of bringing the best swimmers in the area together under one banner. Originally selected for the relay squad in Tokyo, Johnson was left out of the team when she arrived in Tokyo, but team manager Alf Price entered her for the 400m individual medley so she could experience an Olympic race. Johnson was out of her depth in such company, however, and finished last in her heat, 45 seconds behind the winner.

In 1965 Johnson beat the defending champion Anita Lonsbrough to win the north-east freestyle sprint title and the following year was runner-up to Judy Turnbull in the ASA 220 yards individual medley. Johnson married swimmer and water polo player Martin Lester in 1969. After her competitive swimming days, she founded the Bootham Swim School, York, in 1997, where she became a coach. She continued swimming in Masters events into the 1990s. Sadly, Pam Johnson died in 2006 at the age of 57.