George Frederick Larson (June 10, 1912 – September 20, 2008) was a Canadian

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

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 in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

and

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 ...

. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, he was a member of the Canadian team that finished fourth in the men's 4x200-metre freestyle relay. In the 400-metre freestyle, he was eliminated in the first round. Four years later at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, he was eliminated in the first round of the 100-metre freestyle contest. At the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

, he was a member of the Canadian team which won the gold medal in the 4×200-yard freestyle relay. He also won a silver medal in the 100-yard freestyle competition and finished fourth in the 440-yard freestyle, and sixth in the 1500-yard freestyle. After his swimming career concluded, Larson played

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

for the Hamilton Tigers and Hamilton Wildcats, the predecessors of the modern-era

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the CFL. While later working as a police officer, he earned extra income as a professional wrestler under the pseudonym "Irish Tom Collins" for fifteen years. Larson was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

; he died in Hamilton in 2008, aged 96.

External links

*
George Larson's obituary
1912 births 2008 deaths Canadian male freestyle swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Olympic swimmers for Canada Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Swimmers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1934 British Empire Games Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Players of Canadian football from Ontario Hamilton Wildcats football players Hamilton Tigers football players Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games {{Canada-swimming-bio-stub

See also

External links