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the 1870s and Kellerman in
the early 1900s both felt
swimming was an ideal sport
for women and one of the few
in which they were allowed to
compete, while Smith – an
outspoken believer in
women’s suffrage – believed
her swims would ‘put a stop
forever to all this twaddle
about the weaker sex’.
Similarly, over a hundred
years later, Ness sees herself
as a possible role model; if