William Michael Amos (12 August 1932 – 14 April 2003) was a New Zealand swimmer. He won a gold medal at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

, and five New Zealand national swimming titles in the early 1950s.

Early life and family

Born in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

suburb of Ponsonby on 12 August 1932, Amos was the son of Arthur Malcolm Amos and Kathleen Mary Amos (née Booth). He was educated at

Takapuna Grammar School Takapuna Grammar School is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, the school mainly serves the eponymous suburb of Takapuna and the entire Devo ...

. He had 3 daughters by the name of Lynda, Joanne and Christine.

Swimming

Early career

A member of the North Shore Swimming Club, Amos came to national attention in September 1946, when he broke the New Zealand junior boys' record for the 440 yards freestyle by 14.8 seconds, recording a time of 5:32.2. A week later, he broke the national junior 220 yards freestyle record at the

Tepid Baths The Tepid Baths is a public indoor pool complex in Auckland, New Zealand. The baths opened in 1914 on a site that had previously been occupied by a small drydock and were very well-received by the public, with the new baths attracting 30,000 visi ...

in Auckland, with a time of 2:36.1, surpassing the previous record by 0.4 seconds.

1949

In early 1949, Amos swam 440 yards freestyle in 5:13.4, to break the national intermediate boys' record previously held by

Noel Crump Spenceley Noel Stanley Crump (18 December 1916 – 25 October 1995) was a New Zealand freestyle swimmer who represented his country at the 1934 British Empire Games, where he won a bronze medal, and at the 1938 British Empire Games. Early l ...

by 1.4 seconds. Amos then won five titles at the 1949 New Zealand junior swimming championships held in Napier: the 100 yards, 220 yards and 440 yards freestyle; and the 100 yards and 220 yards backstroke. Later that year, in August, Amos lowered the national junior 880 yards freestyle record by 23 seconds, recording a time of 10:51.8, which was 0.2 seconds outside the New Zealand senior record for the distance held by

Colin Chambers Colin John Chambers (25 December 1926 – 7 December 2005) was a New Zealand swimmer who represented his country at the 1950 British Empire Games. Chambers won eight New Zealand national swimming titles: the 440 yards freestyle in 1947; the 880 ...

. The following week, he broke both the national junior and senior records for the 220 yards freestyle, held by Noel Crump and

Noel Chambers Noel Reif Chambers (14 July 1923 – 22 November 1990) was a New Zealand swimmer who won a gold medal for his country at the 1950 British Empire Games. Chambers won five New Zealand national swimming titles: the 220 yards freestyle in 1946 and ...

, respectively, with a time of 2:18.8. In September 1949, Amos set new national junior records of 1:06.0 for the 100 yards backstroke, and 2:46.2 for the 220 yards backstroke. In November 1949, he unofficially recorded 54.0 seconds for 100 yards freestyle as the final leg of a relay. Amos broke his own New Zealand national record for the 220 yards freestyle by 4.8 seconds in December 1949, covering the distance in 2:14.0.

1950

At the New Zealand national swimming championships held in Auckland in January 1950, Amos won the 220 yards freestyle title in a time of 2:20.0, a championship record. He finished second in the 100 yards freestyle final, touched out by the winner, Lyall Barry, who recorded a time of 55.4 seconds. Amos was also second in the 440 yards freestyle, finishing three yards behind Buddy Lucas who took the title in a time of 5:03.4. Representing New Zealand at the

in Auckland, Amos won a gold medal in the men's 880 yards freestyle Relay, alongside Lyall Barry, Noel Chambers and Buddy Lucas. He also competed in the 110 yards and 440 yards freestyle events. Amos qualified for the final of the 110 yards freestyle with a time of 1:01.9 in his heat, making him the sixth-fastest qualifier; in the final he swam 1:02.5 to finish sixth. In the 440 yards freestyle, he progressed to the final as the sixth-fastest qualifier with a time of 5:06.1, and then recorded a time of 5:08.1 in the final to place fifth.

Later career

Amos won a further four New Zealand national swimming titles: the 100 yards freestyle in 1952, 1953, and 1955; and the 220 yards freestyle in 1952.

Death

Amos died at a private hospital in

Te Atatū South Te Atatū South (also written as "Te Atatu South") is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand. Its location allows the suburb easy access to the city and Henderson town centre. Its elevation allows views back on to the city and Wait� ...

on 14 April 2003.

References

External links

Photograph of the 1950 Empire Games 4 x 220 yards freestyle relay team from New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amos, Michael 1932 births 2003 deaths Swimmers from Auckland People educated at Takapuna Grammar School New Zealand male freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games