After Debbie’s swimming career she moved to the longer Ironwoman events, specialising in cycling, and highlighted by the London-Edinburgh-London event: 1400km in 5 days.
Debbie Palmer has lived in Birmingham in the UK since 1989 and has taken up competing in the Age Group World Triathlon Championships, representing Great Britain in the early 2000s.
She then moved to the longer Ironwoman events, specialising in cycling, and highlighted by the London-Edinburgh-London event: 1400km in 5 days, the endurance capacity emanating from her swimming background as a teenager.
It is remarkable that most world class swimmers reach their peak early and then retire early. Debbie Palmer was no different. She retired at 16 after the 1972 Munich Olympics.
She became the fifth South Australian to swim at the Olympics after she took out the National 200m backstroke title in 1972.
As had become a trend at the time, Debbie Palmer was among many of the young, leading swimmers in SA, to leave their coaches and join Harry Gallagher’s squad.
It paid off as she was a finalist in two events including the 4 x 100m freestyle relay, which did not win a medal but did set a new Commonwealth Games record. She also reached the final of the 200m backstroke.
Debbie Palmer is a member of the Swimming SA’s Hall of Fame.
