Argentine sport is full of trailblazing stories, from Emanuel Manu Ginóbili conquering the NBA to Gabriela Sabatini winning the US Open in 1990. Few, however, did it by breaking gender and historic barriers like Jeanette Campbell did at the 1936 Olympics, under the eye of Nazi Germany’s leaders.

On August 9, 1936, when she crossed the line in second place in the 100m freestyle swimming final, she became not only the first Argentine woman in history to represent Argentina at an Olympic Games, but also the first to claim a medal.

According to Alicia Morea, vice president of the Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) and chair of the committee’s Women in Sports Commission, it was “one of the most important milestones in the history of the Argentine Olympic movement.” 

“It wasn’t just the first Olympic medal won by an Argentine woman; it was proof that talent, determination, and athletic excellence know no gender,” said Morea.

Today, 90 years later, Campbell’s legacy remains one of incredible talent, overcoming difficulties, and pioneering for women’s sports in the country.

Jeanette Campbell was born on March 8, 1916, in San Juan de Luz, in southern France, to a Scottish father and an Argentine mother. They emigrated to Argentina in 1918, at the end of WWI, and settled in Buenos Aires.

Having begun swimming at 6, Campbell’s talents were quickly apparent.

In 1934, at 18, she won her first Argentine 100-meter championship with a time of 1:18.6, a South American record. The win made her a star in Argentina, and she appeared on the cover of the prestigious sports magazine El Gráfico. 

A year later, she repeated at the Argentine championship and qualified for the South American Championships in Rio de Janeiro, the first........

© Buenos Aires Herald