Nel van Vliet

Petronella Nel van Vliet was a breaststroke swimmer from the Netherlands. She won gold medals in the 200160m breaststroke at the 1947 European Aquatics Championships and 1948 Summer Olympics. In 1973, she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Nel van Vliet was born in Hilversum and learned to swim only around the age of, during World War II. In 1943, she became national champion in the 200 m breaststroke, her favorite discipline. She improved significantly after the end of the war, settingworld records in various breaststroke and medley relay events in 19461947, and winning national championships in 1946 and 1948. Her international career was hindered by that she was not registered with the Dutch authorities at birth. After this problem was rectified, she became European and Olympic champion in the 200 m breaststroke event. To win the 1948 Olympics, it was sufficient for her to swim eight seconds slower than her personal best time, that is, the world record. Van Vliet was the first top swimmer raised by the famous Dutch coach Jan Stender.

Source: Wikipedia