Ruth Kerr

Who was Ruth Kerr?

Ruth Kerr was a Canadian freestyle and backstroke swimmer who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics. Ruth's parents started the Border Cities Swimming Club in 1930. At the time it was reportedly the largest swimming club in Canada. Ruth trained at the club's quarters at Kennedy Collegiate in Windsor.

In 1932 she was a member of the Canadian relay team which finished fourth in the 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay event. She swam the third leg of the relay. The other relay swimmers were Irene Pirie, Betty Edwards, and Betty Mullen. She also participated in the 400 metre freestyle competition and in the 100 metre backstroke event but in both she was eliminated in the first round.

Ruth Kerr was the first Windsor -born athlete to participate in an Olympic Games. She was also the youngest athlete on the 1932 Canadian Olympic Team. There is a section about Ruth and the Kerr family in Tony Techo's book, The Olympians Among Us.

Kerr was inducted into the Essex Sports Hall of Fame in September 1987. She worked as a school teacher for many years and married Robert Todd in 1948. The couple had four children. On September 21, 2013, Ruth Kerr was inducted into the Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame as a Pioneer Swimmer. Her oldest daughter, Kathy, made a brief presentation and accepted the award on behalf of the family. Her second daughter, Kari, attended the induction ceremony, as did her husband and her children.