{"id":1167,"date":"2008-03-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-03-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/news\/more-than-an-equal\/"},"modified":"2017-10-14T04:51:14","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T04:51:14","slug":"more-than-an-equal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/","title":{"rendered":"More than an equal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"More
Margo Bates OAM, pictured in the grounds of the Baha’i House of Worship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A 97-year-old World Masters swimming champion affirmed her belief in the equality of women and men when she addressed a reception in the grounds of the Baha\u2019i House of Worship in Sydney on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaha\u2019is come from all backgrounds, but we all believe in the equality of men and women,\u201d Margo Bates OAM told a capacity audience attending a reception on 9 March to mark International Women\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

But Mrs Bates has proven more than equal for her competitors when it comes to races in the swimming pool.<\/p>\n

She is the current holder of 15 national swimming records and one world record. Last year she became the first woman in the 95-99 year old age group to swim 200 metres backstroke in an Australian competition.<\/p>\n

Mind<\/strong><\/p>\n

A member of the Baha\u2019i Faith for nearly 50 years, Mrs Bates attributed her remarkable achievements to the power of the mind, which she described as \u201cthe greatest power of all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have the power of the mind to be what you want to be,\u201d she told the capacity audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone could do what I have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs Bates said she first dipped her toe in a swimming pool at the age of 87.<\/p>\n

She told the story of a dream in which she believes she was encouraged by Abdu’l-Baha, the son of the founder of the Baha\u2019i Faith, to \u201ckeep swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n

That eventually prompted her to visit her local pool and to ask a coach if he could teach her to swim.<\/p>\n

Gold<\/strong><\/p>\n

Undeterred by the aches and pains caused by her first training sessions, she went on to win three gold medals in her first three races at the Masters Games held in Canberra in 1998.<\/p>\n

Since then she has set 14 world records and won 181 gold medals. One of her catch phrases became: \u201cDon\u2019t talk to me about old, unless there\u2019s a \u201cg\u201d in front of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A particular highlight for her was when Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser presented her gold medals at a swimming event in Alice Springs.<\/p>\n

She is now training three mornings a week (400 metres per session), preparing to compete at the FINA World Masters Championships to be held in Perth in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should live every second of every day to the best of our ability,\u201d Mrs Bates said.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is a gift \u2013 that\u2019s why they call it the present,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mrs Bates said that mental and physical activity was the secret to her longevity and health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if someone says \u2018shall we go out ? \u2019 I go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs Bates said she loves being a Baha\u2019i and meeting Baha\u2019is from around the world.<\/p>\n

She also enjoys public speaking and is planning to achieve a \u201cCompetent Toastmaster\u201d award even though her eyesight does not allow her to read notes. Her next speech is on the history of the \u201cMeals on Wheels\u201d service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 97-year-old World Masters swimming champion affirmed her belief in the equality of women and men when she addressed a reception in the grounds of the Baha\u2019i House of Worship in Sydney on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-releases","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nMore than an equal - Australian Baha'i Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More than an equal - Australian Baha'i Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A 97-year-old World Masters swimming champion affirmed her belief in the equality of women and men when she addressed a reception in the grounds of the Baha\u2019i House of Worship in Sydney on Sunday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Australian Baha'i Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-03-12T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-14T04:51:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"it-admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"it-admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/\",\"name\":\"More than an equal - Australian Baha'i Community\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-03-12T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-14T04:51:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"More than an equal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/\",\"name\":\"Australian Baha'i Community\",\"description\":\"The official website of the Baha'is of Australia\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f\",\"name\":\"it-admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"it-admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/author\/it-admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More than an equal - Australian Baha'i Community","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More than an equal - Australian Baha'i Community","og_description":"A 97-year-old World Masters swimming champion affirmed her belief in the equality of women and men when she addressed a reception in the grounds of the Baha\u2019i House of Worship in Sydney on Sunday.","og_url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/","og_site_name":"Australian Baha'i Community","article_published_time":"2008-03-12T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-10-14T04:51:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG"}],"author":"it-admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"it-admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/","url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/","name":"More than an equal - Australian Baha'i Community","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG","datePublished":"2008-03-12T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-14T04:51:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/Portals\/0\/Margo%20Bates.JPG"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/more-than-an-equal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More than an equal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/","name":"Australian Baha'i Community","description":"The official website of the Baha'is of Australia","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/27e40e806cfb1ed651dbd81accc2b48f","name":"it-admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0defdebd8063ec2ce723629dbfefdb5171c04bb384ad103a85d694485f46ddbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"it-admin"},"url":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/author\/it-admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1775,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167\/revisions\/1775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahai.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}