Henry Taylor (swimmer)
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Henry Taylor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Oldham, England | 17 March 1885||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 28 February 1951 Oldham, England | (aged 65)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 66 kg (146 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Chadderton Swim Club Hyde Seal Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Henry Taylor (17 March 1885 – 28 February 1951
Early life
Henry Taylor was born in
Bill became his coach and Henry trained in the Oldham Baths, and from 1894 in the Chadderton Baths, often on the "dirty water days" because of cheaper admission.[6][8] During this time he continued to train in the canal and when he got a job at a cotton mill, he spent his lunch times swimming in the canal.[5] At 5'5" (1.65 m) and weighing 10 stone 6 pounds (66 kg),[8] he wore a hand-woven silk swimming costume weighing about an ounce.[9]
Career
Taylor came to attention after success with Chadderton Swimming Club.[3] He was selected for the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens. Although he was not expected to win any medals, he eventually won gold in the one mile freestyle,[5] a silver in the 400 m freestyle and a bronze in the 4×250 m freestyle. Later that year, Taylor broke the world record for 880 yards (800 m). He was an automatic selection for the 1908 Summer Olympics.[5]
During the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, Taylor won gold medals in the three events in which he took part:[5] the 400 m freestyle, the 4×200 m freestyle, and the 1500 m freestyle. He finished first in all of the races he took part in during the games bar one. After performing well in the heats of the 400 m freestyle, he finished second in the semi-final to Austrian Otto Scheff, who won the same event in the 1906 Intercalated Games. However, in the final Taylor finished 10 seconds ahead of the Austrian who won the bronze. The British press hailed Taylor as "Britain's Greatest Amateur Swimmer".[5] He was the first man to hold the world record for the 1500 metres freestyle, a feat that he completed on 25 July 1908 in a time of 22:48.4 in London. His haul of three was the most gold medals won by any Briton at the Olympics. This feat was not repeated by any British participant in the Olympic Games for a century until Chris Hoy won three gold medals in cycling events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[5]
Four years later, Taylor was selected for the
After the war, Taylor returned to swimming. He took part in the
After swimming
Taylor continued swimming competitively into his 40s until he retired in 1926. He also played
The trophies Taylor won were collected and temporarily displayed at Chadderton Baths.[5][failed verification] In 1969 he was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[6] In 2002, a blue plaque was unveiled at Chadderton Baths commemorating his swimming achievements.[5] At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Rebecca Adlington became the first British swimmer to win more than one gold medal at a single Olympic Games since Taylor won three in 1908.[13]
See also
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
- World record progression 800 metres freestyle
- World record progression 1500 metres freestyle
- World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay
References
- ^ Henry Taylor British swimmer. Encyclopædia Britannica
- ISBN 0-7524-0714-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sykes, Lee (3 March 2007). "The golden boy town forgot". Oldham Advertiser. Retrieved on 28 August 2008.
- ^ "Henry Taylor". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Oldham's triple gold Olympian". BBC Online. 20 August 2008. Retrieved on 28 August 2008.
- ^ a b c d "HENRY TAYLOR (GBR) – 1969 Honor Swimmer". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame.[dead link]
- ^ Pidd, Helen (20 August 2008). "When Henry ruled the waves". The Guardian. Retrieved on 29 August 2008.
- ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Henry Taylor". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2 August 2015.
- ^ a b c Barker, Janice (20 August 2008). "Another 24 hours, another Olympic record". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Archived from the original on 26 August 2008. Retrieved on 29 August 2008.
- ISBN 0-14-139087-5.
- ^ "Henry's still our top Olympian". Oldham Evening Chronicle. 19 August 2008. Retrieved on 29 August 2008.
- ^ "Henry's record still stands". Manchester Evening News. 20 August 2008. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved on 28 August 2008.
- ^ Buckley, Will (17 August 2008). "Olympics: 'Dame' Rebecca arises with second gold". The Guardian. Retrieved on 28 August 2008.