William Longworth (26 September 1892 – 19 October 1969) was an Australian freestyle

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who competed for

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Personal

He was born in Rix's Creek,

Singleton, New South Wales Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city ...

, and died in

Wahroonga, New South Wales Wahroonga is a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. Nor ...

Swimming

Longworth attended

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...

where he excelled in athletics, swimming and rugby union. In January 1911, he won the 1320-yard freestyle in world record time at Australian Championship by 30 yards. He defeated Cecil Healy and

Frank Beaurepaire Sir Francis Joseph Edmund Beaurepaire (13 May 1891 – 29 May 1956) was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer from the 1900s to the 1920s, who won three silver and three bronze medals, from the 1908 Summer Olympics in London to the ...

. In 1912, he won all the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and Australian freestyle championships from 100 yards to one mile. In 1912, he qualified for the final of the 100-metre freestyle, as well as for the semifinals of the 1500-metre freestyle, but due to illness he was unable to continue competing.

Military

Longworth enlisted in the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

on 13 September 1915. He served in France from November as a sergeant with the Anzac Entrenchment Battalion. He represented the A.I.F. in swimming.

References

External links

William Longworth – Australian Dictionary of Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longworth, William 1892 births 1969 deaths Australian male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Australia Olympic swimmers of Australasia People educated at Sydney Grammar School Swimmers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Australian military personnel of World War I People from the Hunter Region Sportsmen from New South Wales