Although the butterfly style was emerging from breaststroke since the 1930s, it was not officially recognised as a separate Olympic event until after 1952 Olympics in the 1956 games in Melbourne.

When Shelley Mann of USA won the inaugural 100m butterfly (men swam the 200m butterfly) her path to victory was longer than most.

Shelley, at the age of six, was a victim of one of the horrific diseases of the time: polio. Some types of polio are worse than others and enter the Central Nervous System. It then causes paralysis or partial paralysis. This can be permanent or temporary. If you could imagine your child seizing up and unable to move you would understand the fear it held on the world’s population of parents.

Shelley Mann was brought to a pool by her Mom to try to begin a rehabilitation for her seized up child, hoping that she was lucky to have only temporary paralysis. Swimming was used regularly as one of the few things that could be used to rehabilitate polio victims; including Johnny Weissmuller.

‘Her parents took her daily to a swimming pool where they hoped the water would help hold her arms up as she tried to use them again. When she could lift her arm out of the water with her own power, she cried for joy.’ (Marvin J. Ashton, April 1975 General Conference Report)

Shelley swam as a competitor after her start in the pool at age six. It took years of daily physiotherapy before she gained control of her legs. Only by the time she was 11 could she use her arms and legs to swim.

Shelley continued on in her sport of swimming and was a true talent. She held world records by the time she was 15. She was AAU champion in every stroke including the new style of swimming called butterfly.

When Shelley won the 100m butterfly in 1956 she became the first female to win a butterfly event at the Olympics and first ever 100m fly winner. Men swam only 200m fly in 1956. Shelley had learned butterfly at the Olympic Trials.

Shelley remained disabled by her polio and lived her life with a significant limp in her right leg. Her disability did not hamper her swimming prowess in any way, giving her the unique status as a disabled person who was Olympic champion.