Catherine Pym


Catherine Pym was an Australian fencer. She competed in the women's individual foil event at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Pym also competed at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, where she won a bronze medal in the Women's Foil, Individual.

Early life

Born in the Sydney suburb of Strathfield in 1921 to Julius Tindall Pym of New Zealand and Irene Tootell of England, she was one of three girls. Pym started fencing after she left school at PLC, Croydon and went to train as a sports teacher at The Sword’s Club in Sydney NSW. She taught in New Zealand and Australia before going to France in 1947 to gain more experience and to train for the British Empire Games. She spent 2 years in Paris, France to achieve this as there was not enough competition in Australia, fencing being a fledgling sport in Australia.

Fencing career

Pym married Alan Onslow in 1954 and lived overseas until returning to Australia in 2000. They had 3 daughters together. Her fencing career ended when she married due to travel commitments but she continued teaching for pleasure. Pym died in March 2018 at the age of 96.