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Privacy NoticeOn Antiques Roadshow, a guest shared the inspiring tale of her grandmother’s journey from being dubbed a “dunce” at school to becoming an Olympic swimming champion. Expert Adam Schoon was intrigued by Julia’s collection of swimming medals on the BBC show, including a gleaming gold medal from the 1924 Paris Olympics, as he inquired who it belonged to. “That’s my grandmother Lucy Morton, swimming, she started swimming when she was about aged 10,” Julia recounted, before she found out the staggering price of the Antique, a whopping £15,000. Her father’s unconventional solution to her academic struggles led Lucy to the pool: “What happened was her dad said ‘you’re too much of a dunce at school, you don’t seem to be doing very well’ and he decided ‘let’s try swimming.'”
An Antiques Roadshow expert valued an Olympic gold 1924 medal for £15,000.
(Image: (Image: BBC))
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Adam, curious about Julia’s own aquatic abilities, asked if she had the “swimming DNA”, prompting Julia to quip that she could manage “swim a length”, just enough “to save my life”. He then turned the attention back to Lucy’s extraordinary achievements, noting her collection of gold medals. “I noticed that there’s a number of medallions around here which she would have won for, I presume, county races, national races. She’s setting world records.” Highlighting the significance of each award, Adam pointed out, “All of these are 15-carat gold but of course, all these smaller medals build up to really this one here.” He then gestured towards the Olympic medal, as Julia provided further insight into her grandmother’s path to victory. “In 1923, they actually became very interested in her and they asked her to start swimming in preparation for the 1924 Paris Olympics. She trained and she went to Paris in 1924. She wasn’t expected to win or anything.” “Unfortunately, some of the Americans had got some sort of bug from what I heard.”
An Antiques Roadshow guest brought in a photograph of Olympic gold medallist swimmer Lucy Morton in 1924.
(Image: (Image: BBC))
“She made the final race in breaststroke 200m and everyone was apparently cheering, she got to the end and she had a chaperone and the chaperone said ‘You’ve won!” The guest then went on to explain that her grandmother was actually the first female swimmer to win a gold medal in swimming for Great Britain.” “I’m really proud of her. At that age, that time, females weren’t doing anything like that and to have actually swam at the age of 27, I think it was quite old back then.” The Antiques Roadshow expert then commented: “Well you’re right to be proud, she was an incredible woman.” Speaking into the history, Adam said: “Back to the medal, it’s got her name on the rim, it is the gold but it’s made of silver, silver gilt. It was designed in Paris by a man called Andre Rivaud, it was made in the Paris mint and there were only 304 made as far as I know.” Julia mentioned that her grandmother later became a coach for the Olympic team and escorted young swimmers across the country, stating: “She just loved it. It was her life.” When it came to the valuation, the expert revealed: “So when it comes to the valuation, Olympic medal, £15,000?” The guest couldn’t believe it, reacting with surprise and delight, asking: “What? The one medal?” Julia appeared lost for words as Adam said: “Just for that. And the fact you’ve got all these gold medals and more here, another £15,000.” He told her: “But altogether, it just adds up to the most extraordinary record of the most incredible woman.” Sign up to OK’s TV newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for freeStory SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnAntiques Roadshow
