Elaine Tanner

Did You Know?

• Tanner won three Olympic medals at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City: two individual silver medals and one relay bronze.
• She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1969 and inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971.
• The Elaine Tanner Award has been presented to Canada's top junior female athlete since 1972.

International competition

At the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, Elaine Tanner collected four gold medals and three silvers, making her the first woman to win four golds at those games and the first athlete ever to take home seven medals from a single Commonwealth Games. That same year, she became the youngest person ever awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete, and was also named the country's overall best athlete. In 1967, at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, she added two golds and three silvers while setting two world records. She had previously won the ASA National British Championships in the 110 yards butterfly in 1965.

Personal life

After her swimming career, Tanner experienced a decades-long depression, a serious eating disorder, and anxiety attacks. Her first marriage ended in 1980 after nine years, and custody of her two children went to their father in Prince George while she stayed in Vancouver. She worked odd jobs across Canada, had a second marriage that ended in 1987, and by 1988 was living out of her car and feeling suicidal. She later met former lifeguard John Watt, married him five years later, and lives with him in White Rock, British Columbia. They run a charity called Team Underdog. She attended the University of Alberta in 1969–70, enrolled at the University of Calgary in 1970, and graduated from Simon Fraser University in 1986 with a degree in kinesiology, then worked in holistic health. As of 2013, she practiced in Oakville, Ontario.