The Jewish Chronicle
JC Legends: Susan Halter
The JC speaks to an Olympic swimmer who escaped Nazi persecution and is still making waves in the pool
November 18, 2010 15:41
1 min read
The JC speaks to an Olympic swimmer who escaped Nazi persecution and is still making waves in the pool
November 18, 2010 15:41As London prepares to host the Olympic Games in less than two years, Jewish Hungarian swimmer Susan Halter has fond memories of when the city last hosted the Olympic showpiece.
Born in 1927, Halter, 83, who escaped Nazi persecution and now lives in London having gained British citizenship when she married in 1950, represented Hungary in the 100 metre freestyle event at the 1948 London Olympics.
She is now looking forward to being a spectator for the swimming events at Zaha Hadid’s aquatic centre in 2012 and recently attended the ceremony which marked the arrival of the Olympic flag in England, and where she met London Mayor Boris Johnson and Labour politician Tessa Jowell.
“It was absolutely fantastic to compete in the London Olympics because it was at Wembley and was the first one after the war,” Halter said. “There was no Olympic village and we all had to stay in different places, but I had always wanted to compete in an Olympics and it was a dream come true.”
Halter may not have been among the medals in 1948 but enjoyed the experience nonetheless. “I did not finish last [in my heat], but I never reached the semi-finals either. This was perhaps down to the fact the eventual gold and silver medallists were in my heat. Really and truly it was wonderful to be swimming after the war.”
Despite her pride at representing Hungary at an Olympics, things were not always easy for Halter and the other Jewish swimmers competing in London. “The Jews were unable to practice in the same swimming pool as the other competitors,” she said, “and eventually certain Jewish laws came into force preventing them from going at all.
“New laws also meant that Jewish swimmers had to wear a yellow star and there was one occasion when my girlfriends and I went to the pool [used by the other competitors] without wearing the badges and thought we would get away with it.
“We did not expect anyone to know us, but unfortunately, as soon as we started swimming, everyone knew us as we were not quite the same standard as the rest of the swimmers. Thankfully, however, we were not caught by the people who mattered.”
The 1948 Olympics is not the only major sporting event which holds a place in her heart. “I have competed at three Maccabiah Games and been among the medals in all of them,” she recalled. “It was wonderful to compete at the Maccabiah which were usually opened by Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion.”
Fresh from the recent World Championship Masters event in Gothenburg where she walked away with four medals, Halter is now targeting further success “I may even make it to next summer’s European Masters Championships in Ukraine but first I must stay fit and survive until then,” she concluded.