Tarpaulin training, swimming in canals, NZ's Walrond blazed trail

FILE PHOTO: Swimmer Violet Walrond poses for a picture during the 1920 Antwerp Olympics swimming event in Antwerp, Belgium, 1920. The New Zealand Olympic Committee/Handout via REUTERS

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Violet Walrond overcame massive hurdles to become New Zealand's first female Olympian at the 1920 Olympics, but never really understood the significance of what she had done until late in her life, her nephew said.

The 15-year-old schoolgirl swimmer was the youngest of the 65 female athletes at the Antwerp Games, the first time New Zealand had its own team at the Olympics after being part of an Australasia team in 1908 and 1912.