Sydney Battersby
Battersby in 1908
Personal information
Full nameThomas Sydney Battersby
National teamGreat Britain
Born(1887-11-18)18 November 1887
Platt Bridge, Wigan, United Kingdom
Died3 September 1974(1974-09-03) (aged 86)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubWigan Swim Club
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Great Britain
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1908 London 1500 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 1912 Stockholm 4×200 m freestyle

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.[1]

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).[2] He also advanced to the semifinals in the 400-metre freestyle.[3]

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 semifinals of the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle.[3]

During the course of his competitive swimming career, Battersby set four world records in freestyle events, including the 400-metre, 330-yard, 440-yard and one-mile distances.[4] 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.[5]

He was born in Platt Bridge, near Wigan, Lancashire, England, and died in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[3] He was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 2007.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sydney Battersby". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. 1 2 3 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.
  4. 1 2 "Sydney Battersby (GBR)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  5. ↑ David Prentice, "Merseyside's 100 Olympians: No. 43 Thomas Sydney Battersby", The Liverpool Echo (14 June 2012). Retrieved 19 May 2015.
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