Nicholas Napier Birks (born 4 June 1938) is an Australian former

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

active in the 1950s and 1960s. An old boy of St Peter's College in Adelaide, Birks is the great-grandson of the founder of Charles Birks & Co, a former department store on Rundle Street. He was a nine-time national champion in the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

and won three national titles in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

. In 1961 he set a British Empire record in the javelin with a throw of 252 ft 4 inches in Sydney. Birks featured in three editions of the British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the first in Cardiff in 1958, where he was ninth in the javelin. He won bronze in the javelin in 1962 and silver at the same event in 1966.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birks, Nick 1938 births Living people Australian male javelin throwers Australian decathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Athletes from Adelaide Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from South Australia Australian Athletics Championships winners