Beryl Swain
Beryl Swain (born January 22, 1936 in Walthamstow , † 2007 in Epping ) was a British motorcycle racer . She was the first woman to take part in the Isle of Man TT in 1962 .
Life
Swain was born Beryl Tolman in Walthamstow. In 1958 she married Eddie Swain, the owner of a motorcycle workshop. She became a member of numerous motorcycle clubs and she started racing . She was the first woman to take part in a race on the Isle of Man's dangerous TT course , one of the most famous public road races in the world. After two laps on the Mountain Circuit in the 1962 race, she finished 22nd on a 50cc Itom . Her average speed was 48.3 mph (77.7 km / h ) after her machine lost top gear on lap two. She announced her intention to return the following year. The organizers have always been concerned that a male racer could be seriously injured or killed on the tough track and they were unwilling to take the risk with a woman. As a sign of the times, the FIM sports association decided to revoke its international license by introducing a minimum weight limit. Since she could not keep this and the organizers insisted on the ban on female participants, she stopped racing. She protested, campaigned against the decision, and received a lot of support. Even so, her license was never restored. She never returned to racing after her license was revoked and worked as a manager in the London area for Sainsbury’s (a large chain of supermarkets in the UK). She later helped the elderly with meals on wheels. The ban was finally lifted a decade later, and women began competing in TT races again.
Web links
- Beryl Swain on the Isle of Man TT official website.
- Beryl Swain: The First Woman To Compete As A Rider In The Most Dangerous Motorcycle Race In The World (English)
- female-motorcycle racers: Beryl Swain (English)
- Beryl Swain's Unusual Hobby: Motorcycle Racing (English)
- Storia: le motocicliste del passato: Beryl Swain, Francesca Giordano, Sandra Barnett & Kate Parkinson, Roy Hanks, Julia Bingham, Wendy Davis, Gwen Crellin, Linda Dunlop (English)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Swain, Beryl |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tolman, Beryl (maiden name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British motorcycle racer |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 22, 1936 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Walthamstow , England |
DATE OF DEATH | 2007 |
Place of death | Epping (Essex) , England |