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Sydney Battersby
	Battersby in 1908
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Sydney Battersby
National team	Great Britain
Born	18 November 1887; Platt Bridge, Wigan, United Kingdom
Died	3 September 1974 (aged 86); Sydney, Australia
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	Wigan Swim Club
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Great Britain
Olympic Games

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 semi-finals 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 semi-finals of the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle.^[3]

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.^[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. He died in Sydney, Australia.^[3] He was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 2007.^[4]

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.
^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ ^a ^b "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.