John Davies (swimmer)

John Griffith Davies[1] (17 May 1929 – 24 March 2020) was an Australian-American breaststroke swimmer and politician.

Davies won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and set a world record in the 200 yard breaststroke (short course)[2] and tied the world record in the 200 m breaststroke (long course).

After retiring from competition swimming, he became a lawyer in California. He was appointed a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.r[3] He presided over the trial of the Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with assaulting Rodney King. He retired from the court in 1998.

Davies was born in Willoughby, New South Wales, Australia.[4] He studied at the University of Michigan and at the University of California at Los Angeles. He moved to the United States in 1955.

Davies was added into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1984,[5] and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1992. He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.[6]

Davies died of cancer in Pasadena, California on 24 March 2020, aged 90.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Davies, John Griffith: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Cedar Rapids Gazette 29 March 1952 Page 4
  3. ↑ Confirmation hearings on federal appointments : hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, first session, on confirmation hearings on appointments to the federal judiciary and the Department of Justice. pt.4 (1985), page 45
  4. ↑ John Davies Archived 2020-04-17 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  5. ↑ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, John Davies (AUS) Archived 2017-02-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "John Davies". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  7. ↑ John G. Davies, 90, Retired Judge Of U.S. District Court, Dies