Irene Steer

Irene Steer (10 August 1889 – 18 April 1977) was a Welsh freestyle swimmer. She is one of only six Welsh women who have won Olympic gold medals, the others being Nicole Cooke (cycling, 2008), Jade Jones (taekwondo, 2012, 2016), Hannah Mills (sailing 2016, 2020), Elinor Barker (cycling, 2016) and Lauren Price (boxing, 2020). In 1912, Steer won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay and failed to reach the final of the individual 100 m race.

Steer started as a breaststroke swimmer, but in 1908–1909 changed to crawl. After retiring from competitions she married William Nicholson, director and chairman of Cardiff City F.C. They had three daughters and one son.