John Basil Charles Dickinson (25 April 1915 – 7 October 2013)Our oldest olympian born in Queanbeyan – Triple jumper has fond memories
''The Queanbeyan Age''. 20 July 2007 was an Australian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

in Berlin. Born in

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

, Dickinson attended

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School (”SBHS”), otherwise known as The Sydney High School (“SHS”) or High, is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex school, single-sex Selective school (New South Wales), academically s ...

, graduating in 1932. At the

he struggled with an injury; after finishing 16th in the triple jump he withdrew from the long jump. Dickinson won the Australian title in the triple jump in 1934 and 1936–37. At the 1938 Empire Games he earned bronze medals in both the long jump and triple jump, and in 1939 he won the New South Wales decathlon title. This was his last athletics competition, as the same year he enlisted in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he worked in insurance and remained involved in athletics as an administrator. He was the chief judge of the jumping events at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. After the death of

Bill Roycroft James William George Roycroft, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE (17 March 1915 – 29 May 2011) was an Australian Olympic equestrianism, equestrian champion. He grew up on a dairy farm and learnt to ride horses there. After servi ...

on 29 May 2011, Dickinson was recognised as Australia's oldest surviving Olympian,Games out of step with its creed, says Australia's oldest Olympian
Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved on 25 August 2015. and as the last surviving member of the Australian 1936 Olympic team. He died on 7 October 2013, aged 98.
. sports-reference.com

References

External links

at Australian Athletics Historical Results
Basil Dickinson – Australian Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, Basil 1915 births 2013 deaths Australian male triple jumpers Australian male long jumpers Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Australian Army personnel of World War II People from Queanbeyan Sportsmen from New South Wales Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games Australian Athletics Championships winners People educated at Sydney Boys High School