John Walter da Silva (11 June 1934 – 8 April 2021) was a New Zealand wrestler and boxer.

Biography

Da Silva was born on 11 June 1934. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and at the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

. In 1955 he held both the New Zealand Heavyweight Wrestling title and the Auckland Heavyweight Boxing title. He is of Portuguese, African, English and French Tahitian descent.

Paul Silva Paul Claude Silva (October 31, 1922 – June 12, 2014) was a phycologist, marine biologist, and algal taxonomist considered to be the world's leading expert in the chlorophyte green algal genus ''Codium''. Silva was also an expert in botanical ...

, a competitive wood chopper, was his uncle. An amateur from 1953, he turned professional after the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. He wrestled throughout New Zealand and around the world. He retired in 1977, and subsequently worked with disadvantaged youth. In the 1994 New Year Honours, he was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

for community service. Until his death on 8 April 2021 at the age of 86, he lived on

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island ( mi, Aotea) lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson ...

. He was the father of boxer

Garth da Silva Garth John da Silva (born 28 December 1973 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a boxer from New Zealand, who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There he won his first round in the Heavyweight (-91 kg) division again ...

Championships and accomplishments

*All Star Pro Wrestling ** NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship ''(New Zealand version)'' (6 times)

References

External links

Profile at Online World of Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, John da 1934 births 2021 deaths Olympic wrestlers of New Zealand Wrestlers at the 1956 Summer Olympics New Zealand male sport wrestlers Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Wrestlers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games People from Great Barrier Island Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal New Zealand male boxers New Zealand people of Brazilian descent New Zealand people of French Polynesian descent New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand male professional wrestlers People from Pukekohe Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people