 Battersby in 1908 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Sydney Battersby | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1887-11-18)18 November 1887 Platt Bridge, Wigan, United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | 3 September 1974(1974-09-03) (aged 86) Sydney, Australia | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Wigan Swim Club | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Thomas Sydney Battersby (18 November 1887 – 3 September 1974) was an English competition swimmer who represented Great Britain in freestyle events at two consecutive Olympic Games.
At the 1908 Summer Olympics hosted by London, he won a silver medal in the men's 1500-metre freestyle, finishing second with a time of 22:51.2, behind fellow Briton Henry Taylor (22:48.4), and ahead of Australian Frank Beaurepaire (22:56.2). He also advanced to the semi-finals in the 400-metre freestyle.
Four years later, at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, Battersby won a bronze medal as a member of the third-place British men's team in the 4×200-metre relay. He also reached the semi-finals of the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle.
During his competitive swimming career, Battersby set four world records in freestyle events, including the 400-metre, 330-yard, 440-yard and one-mile distances. Battersby had a reputation for physical toughness; at the 1908 Olympics, he continued to swim at the end of the 1500-metre event – a shorter distance than the imperial mile – in an attempt to break the world record for the mile freestyle. He fell short of breaking the world record but did set a new British national mark.
He was born in Platt Bridge, near Wigan, Lancashire, England. He died in Sydney, Australia. He was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 2007.
See also
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
References
- "Sydney Battersby". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Men's 1,500 metres Freestyle Final". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sydney Battersby". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ "Sydney Battersby (GBR)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- David Prentice, "Merseyside's 100 Olympians: No. 43 Thomas Sydney Battersby", The Liverpool Echo (14 June 2012). Retrieved 19 May 2015.
External links
- British Olympic Association profile
- Sydney Battersby at the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- Sydney Battersby at Olympedia
- 1887 births
- 1974 deaths
- English male freestyle swimmers
- British male freestyle swimmers
- World record setters in swimming
- Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
- Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic swimmers for Great Britain
- Sportspeople from Wigan
- Swimmers at the 1908 Summer Olympics
- Swimmers at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists in swimming
- British male long-distance swimmers