42-year-old British Olympic swimmer Helen Smart, formerly Helen Don-Duncan, has died. A cause of death has not been determined, but friends and family have described the death of ‘sudden,’ as Smart had no known pre-existing medical conditions.
The family was vacationing on the banks of Lake Coniston in the Lake District when she was found unresponsive by her 4-year-old daughter very early in the morning, according to Smart’s mother.
Smart represented Great Britain at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia when she was 19 years old. There, she placed 15th in her specialty event, the 200 backstroke.
She won four consecutive British Championships from 1997 through 2000, and also represented England at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, taking bronze in the 200 backstroke.
Her other big international medals came at the 1999 World Short Course Championships and the 1998 European Short Course Championships, where she took silver medals in the 200 backstroke.
After retiring from swimming, she became the principal of Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School in Wigan, where she continued to work at the time of her death.
Smart’s husband, Craig Smart, posted a tribute to his wife on the school’s Facebook page.
“She loved the school, staff, children and parents so much,” Craig Smart said. “She was so proud to reach her goal of being Head Teacher. She used to say to me all the time she could never see herself at another school. She was Worsley Mesnes through and through! I remember only last week she said her goal was to get the school to outstanding and that she had the right staff to achieve this!
“I hope you all keep learning like champions. Please learn from this and live your best life, no regrets, take lots of photos, make memories and keep smiling just like Helen always did!”
Helen Smart also played Euphonium in the Pemberton Old Wigan DW Band.
Katy Sexton, who made her Olympic debut alongside Smart in Sydney, said “I’ve been trying to find the words to say about this but am so shocked by the news, I don’t know what to say. Helen was such a vibrant character, always happy and a great friend and roommate. She was such a dedicated athlete and had an amazing work ethic which she carried into her life outside of sport. She will be greatly missed and my biggest sympathies go to her family.”
Other tributes poured out across social media as news spread. the City of Coventry Swim Club, where she grew up training:
Very sad.
Reading the remarks from former pupils of hers, she was also a very beloved and popular school principal.
Title should be Don-Duncan.
R.I.P
She was 43
I’ve got her birthday as June 9, 1981, as confirmed by her IOC bio (and many other sources), but if you see differently somewhere, please let me know.