OLYMPIC STAR, 83: ‘I’M TOO YOUNG TO GIVE UP!
AT THE age of 83, former Olympic gymnast Gwynedd Lingard is still heavily involved with the sport – and says she’s “too young to retire”.
The Cardiff athlete is helping to train the next generation of gymnasts, some 66 years since her youthful entrance onto the sporting stage. At just 16 she was picked to compete in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, before going on to perform across the world.
And, most days, she can still be found training youngsters at Barry-based Penarth Gymnastics Club – even if competitive gymnastics has changed a lot since she first started in World War II.
“In the war years when I was young there was lots going on to entertain people,” said the grandmother of two. “I saw a gymnastic display in Grangetown Gardens and decided to get involved.”
At the age of 11 the Howard Gardens High School pupil joined the Grangetown Ladies gymnastics club. Four years later she took the decision to swap her education for her career.
“I knew I couldn’t carry on my training and school,” she said. “My father was furious but it was what I wanted to do. I knew if I wanted to get to the games I had to, I was doing my homework on the bus.”
Still a teenager, Gwynedd was chosen to complete in the women’s gymnastics team at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki and the 1960 team at the Olympics in Rome.
She added: “It was amazing. I lived in Grangetown where there was lots of football and baseball clubs but not gymnastics. There was a door-to-door collection to buy me a gold watch for being chosen.”
Competing alongside eight other girls, the games didn’t all go to plan.
Gwynedd said: “The set works were in French and had to be translated to English and we found out a lot of translations were wrong. We had to re-do our routines but it didn’t bother us much.”
In a family full of athletes, Gwynedd’s rising career also meant a large financial outlay. She explained: “My parents were over the moon. There was a lot of support but there wasn’t much money.
“The training was between Leeds, London and Cardiff and my mum had to get me a ticket and a new coat and put me on the train. When we were in Cardiff they would stay in our house – there were people from all over the country.
“Even after we were selected, we were given a list of things we had to buy. We had these dreadful berets hats and leotards. “In those days you needed clothes coupons so it was quite a thing for parents to find. It was a costly business.”
For Gwynedd, gymnastics also led to her meeting husband and former Commonwealth high board diver Syd Lingard.
She said: “I was in a competition at Church Hall in Roath and Syd did gymnastics. He was showing off on the rings in the background, we first met upside down...
“When he was in the Commonwealth Games I was in the hospital having our second child. It was a pretty busy life.”
Gwynedd continued her gymnastics career until the age of 65 – with her last competition at 64 years old. Since then, Gwynedd has remained an active coach for Penarth Gymnastics Club, holding coaching sessions four times a week.
She said: “I just love being with the youngsters, they’re so caring. They look after me and so do the coaches. They do all the work, I just interfere. I’m too young to retire, I’m 83!”