John Birnie Marshall (29 March 1930 – 31 January 1957) was an Australian competitive

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 ...

of the 1940s and 1950s who won a silver medal in the 1500-metre and a bronze medal in the 400-metre

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 ...

at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. By the age of 21, he had set 28 world and 38 American records (see note below).

Biography

Marshall was born in

Bondi, New South Wales Bondi () is a suburb of eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. It is often colloquially referred to as "Bond ...

, the elder son of Alexander St Andrew McLean Marshall, a window dresser and former surfing champion from Western Australia. He soon moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, where he started swimming in the Swan River by the age of three, and in 1935 to Melbourne. As a teenager he took up cricket, association football and athletics and only later shifted to swimming. In 1947 he won every event from the 220-yard to the 1650-yard freestyle at the 1947 Australian championships. The following year, he was selected for the London Olympics, where he claimed bronze in the men's 400-metre freestyle behind the American duo of Bill Smith and

Jimmy McLane James Price McLane Jr. (September 13, 1930 – December 13, 2020) was an American competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and a world record-holder. Biography Representing the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Engla ...

. He claimed a silver medal in the men's 1500-metre freestyle, behind McLane. In Marshall's era, the 200-metre freestyle was not part of the Olympic swimming program. McLane's coach, Bob Kiphuth was so impressed by Marshall's performance that the same year he arranged for Marshall to study at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and swim for the

Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving Since its inception in 1898, the Yale Bulldogs swimming and diving program has produced numerous champion athletes. Many Yale swimmers have gone on to earn All-American honors and even break world records. The team has won 4 NCAA championships, 3 ...

team. Under Kiphuth's guidance, Marshall set 19 world records, 15 of them within four months in 1950. At the 1949 Australian championships he won all freestyle events from 100- to 1500-metre, and at the 1950 U.S.

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) Indoor Championships he collected the 220-yard, 440-yard, 880-yard, 200-metre, 400-metre and 1-mile titles. Marshall was burnt out by the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

– he failed to qualify for the final of the 400-metre freestyle, and finished an eighth in the final of the 1500-metre freestyle, more than 41 seconds behind the second-last finisher. In 1954 he returned to Australia, where he worked for the tyre company of the Australian former swimmer

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 ...

. On 14 September 1955 he married Wendy Patricia Byrne, an 18-year-old competition diver. Marshall made a third attempt at Olympic glory at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne. At the age of 26, he had given up freestyle, and placed his efforts in the newly recognized

butterfly stroke The butterfly (colloquially shortened to fly) is a List of swimming styles, swimming stroke swum on the chest, with both arms moving symmetrically, accompanied by the butterfly kick (also known as the "dolphin kick"). While other styles like ...

. Although he reached the finals of the 200-metre butterfly, he finished fifth behind American

William Yorzyk William Albert Yorzyk Jr. (May 29, 1933 – September 2, 2020) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and one-time world record-holder. Yorzyk represented the United States at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.Spor ...

. A few weeks after the 1956 Olympics, Marshall was killed in a car accident, while three teenagers, the passengers of the car he was driving, escaped with minor injuries. In 1973 he was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

and in 1985 to the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

Notes

Before records were standardized, any swimmer could set an American record at an AAU meet. If the fastest American swimmer had a slower time than the foreign American record holder, it was referred to as the American citizen record. Foreign athletes can also be "All Americans" while competing at the collegiate level.Los Angeles Times 9 December 1949 Page C3

References

External links

John Marshall profile
provided by databaseolympics.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, John 1930 births 1957 deaths Australian male butterfly swimmers Australian male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic swimmers of Australia Road incident deaths in Victoria (Australia) Sportsmen from New South Wales Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Yale Bulldogs men's swimmers Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees

Biography

See also

Notes

References

External links