South Yorkshire Times, July 12th, 1969.
Small Frame But A Big, Big Heart.
Like Billy Bremmer, Bruce Tulloh and Billie-Jean King, 10 years old Conisbrough girl Donna Smith packs a big heart in a small frame. Swimming in her sport her diminutive size has not deterred her and the Denaby and Cadeby A.S.C. now consider her good enough for a tilt at the North-Eastern title in the under 10 breast stroke event. She earned her place by reaching the final in the Yorkshire Group Championships.
Donna is being trained by Mr. G. S. Brandreth, Chairman of the swimming club, who thinks she has tremendous potential.
He said : “Donna is a small girl for her age, and we entered her for the Yorkshire Group Championships at Rotherham, in which she reached the final of the under 10’s and came fifth. This is a remarkable achievement for a young girl of such a slight build. “I have only had her in training for six weeks, and i am sure she is going to get better as she increases in weight and stature. At Rotherham in the Yorkshire Championships she covered 66 yards in a time of just over 63 seconds, which was nearly seven seconds faster than the necessary qualifying time.
Donna, of 40, Gardens Lanes, Conisbrough, learned to swim while on a seaside holiday, and has been with the Denaby and Cadeby A.S.C for 15 months. Just 4 ft. 4 ins. tall and slightly built, she has swum 105 lengths of the Denaby Baths, and in the A.S.C. gala last week she won her event in a faster time than the winner of the boys equivalent.
A pupil at St. Alban’s Junior School, Denaby, she will be swimming for the North Eastern title at Leeds in August.