Biography
Otago swimmer Debbie Ledgerwood competed in the butterfly events at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games, though she had been a champion backstroke swimmer in previous years.
She was awarded the New Zealand 200m backstroke title in 1972, though she finished 2nd in the final behind an Australian visitor, Virginia Rickard. She then won the national 100m and 200m butterfly titles in 1974 to reinforce her butterfly credentials.
Ledgerwood trained under Duncan Lang at Moana Pool and belonged to the Kiwi club, as did fellow 1974 Games swimmers Allison Calder and Brett Naylor.
In Christchurch, Ledgerwood was 4th in her heat of the 100m butterfly in 1min 08.07s overall, not quick enough for her to qualify for the final, and 12th overall.
She was more competitive in the 200m butterfly, finishing 3rd in her heat in 2min 26.06s to grab the final spot in the final. Ledgerwood couldn’t reproduce that time in the final and recorded 2min 28.40s, for 8th place.
She also swam in the 4 x 100m medley relay in Christchurch, along with Monique Rodahl, Jane Lowe and Jaynie Parkhouse. In her butterfly leg, she powered past 13-year-old Rebecca Perrott, who was representing Fiji. A lot more was to be heard of Perrott when she moved back to New Zealand shortly after and became one of the world’s best swimmers. The New Zealanders were 5th in Christchurch in 4min 41.54s.
Ledgerwood later became a club coach at Moana Pool.
athlete
Fast facts
- Sport
- Swimming
