Sheila Watt

Sheila Watt shot to fame as a 13-year-old in 1954 when she won the Scottish junior 200 yards freestyle title. She made her Great Britain début against the Netherlands in 1957 and the following year broke the British 100 yards butterfly record with a time of 1:04.7.

Having finished third in the 1957 ASA 110 yards butterfly, Watt went on to win three consecutive titles in 1958-60. She took part in the Roma Olympics when she broke her own personal best time in winning her semi-final, and then finished a creditable fourth in the final. She finished fifth with the GB medley relay squad.

Watt also swam 400 medley and broke the Scottish national record in 1961. The following year she broke the Scottish 400 freestyle record at the Scottish Championships, and also lowered her own British 100 metres butterfly record to 1:04.2. That same year she competed in her second British Empire and Commonwealth Games, having competed at Cardiff in 1958. Shortly after the 1962 Games in Perth, Australia, Watt gave up competitive swimming.

Watt spent six years working as a journalist on a local Aberdeen newspaper and later went to Aberdeen University before completing a teacher-training course. She then taught history, modern sciences, and economics at Harlaw Academy in Aberdeen. During her time at University, Watt temporarily came out of retirement in 1970 to swim in a match against Glasgow University. Also, during her time there she met her future husband, and fellow teacher, Shewan Duthie. The couple married in 1976.