Lela Brooks

Born in Toronto, Brooks was the first female member of the Old Orchard Skating Club and entered her first race at age 12. Her father, a dental technician, and her mother both skated and encouraged their kids toward the sport. She had two siblings, one of which was an older brother who also went on to become a Canadian skating champion.[2] She began setting Ontario and Canadian records in 1923 at the age of 15. By the end of 1925, when she was 17, Brooks had broken six world records. She would ultimately set 17 world records and win 65 championships over her skating career, all done within North America.[1]

At the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, she participated in three demonstration events, all with competitors from Canada and the United States. She made it to the finals in all three events, but placed no higher than fourth. Her time in the 1500 m heats, 2:54.0, was more than 15 seconds under the official world record, but the time was not recognised since the race was skated under the North American mass start rules.

In 1933, Brooks was listed among her country's elite athletes as one of "Canada's Big Trains" by the Toronto Star. Later that year, her divorce from her first husband, Arthur Potter, was widely publicized.[2] Despite all of her achievements, Brooks remained an amateur athlete throughout her career and did not employ a formal coach.[4] She did receive some limited sponsorship, however, as CCM provided her with $10 per week and two pairs of skates each season.[2] She was also sponsored in her early years by millionaire ice hockey team owner Teddy Oke.[4]

She qualified for the 1936 Winter Olympics, the first time women's speed skating competed officially, but chose to retire. Later that year, she married druggist Russ Campbell and moved to Owen Sound, Ontario, where he opened a pharmacy. They had four children together, including at least one daughter, Dorothy Jane Campbell (1947–1978). Campbell passed away in 1967 after 31 years of marriage. Brooks died in Owen Sound at age 82 and, though she had married a third husband, Cliff Bleich, in 1972,[2] she was buried in Owen Sound's Greenwood Cemetery with her second husband, Russ.[3]

In 1972, Brooks was inducted into both the Speed Skating Canada Hall of Fame and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.[1]

• Lela Alene Brooks at Find a Grave