Robert Charles Pirie (April 30, 1916 – January 22, 1984) was a Canadian freestyle swimmer, who competed internationally during the 1930s.

Background

Pirie was unanimously selected as the

Lou Marsh Trophy The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wit ...

winner for 1939, recognizing Canada's top athlete. That year, in Hawaii, he broke the 220-yard world record long held by

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

and finished third in the U.S. national championships in the 110-yard and 220-yard freestyle races, with Japanese swimmers taking the top two spots in both races. At the time, he held every Canadian freestyle swimming record from 100 metres to two miles. Earlier, Pirie won silver and bronze in freestyle events 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 ...

. His sister,

Irene Pirie Irene Catherine Pirie-Milton (June 7, 1914 – December 1998), née Irene Catherine Pirie, was a Canadian champion swimmer who competed internationally in freestyle events. At the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario, she was a ...

, also won individual silver and bronze freestyle medals at the same games. Four years later, at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 ye ...

, Pirie won gold in the 110-yard freestyle and the 440-yard freestyle events, and silver in the 1650-yard freestyle race. Pirie attended and participated in the

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 ...

. In the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle, he was eliminated in the semi-finals. He was also a member of the Canadian relay team which finished seventh in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay. Pirie was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Canad ...

in 1975. The Bob Pirie Trophy is presented each year by Swim Ontario to the top male swimmer in Ontario as selected by the Ontario Swimming Coaches' Association. The female swimmer of the year receives the Irene Pirie Trophy. Pirie was posthumously inducted into the

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirie, Bob 1916 births 1984 deaths Canadian male freestyle swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Northern Star Award winners Olympic swimmers for Canada Swimmers from Toronto Swimmers at the 1934 British Empire Games Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games

Background

See also

References