In memoriam of Dr. Elizabeth Ferris

We learned with regret the death of Dr. Elisabeth Ferris, a friend, a Council member of CIFP. We at CIFP would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Ferris, who contributed a great deal to our endeavors as well.

She achieved the first and biggest success of her sports career in Rome in 1960. She finished third behind the world-famous East German champion at Olympic diving event. She turned her focus more and more on her medical studies and she gave up competing at an early age. However she remained committed to sports until the end of her life. As a medical doctor she was a banner-bearer of the fight against doping and she persistently fought for the right of women equality by demanding more representation for women in the leadership of sports organizations. She was a founder of the British Olympic Association then she became the Deputy President of the World Olympians Association, which was founded in 1995. She was reelected for another two terms between 1999 and 2007. With her creative and active contribution she helped the work of the WOA President. Among other things, she represented the interest of athletes as a delegate in the IOC Medical Commission. She continued her work at the British Olympic Association and participated in several humanitarian projects under the auspices of the UN after she was not reelected for a third term. For her altruist work in the spirit of Olympic solidarity she received the Olympic Order of Merit in 1960. She was also recognized by Princess Anne last autumn with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Olympic Association. After a long battle with her illness she passed away at the age of 72.