Cecil Healy
Encyclopedia
Cecil Patrick Healy (28 November 1881 in Darlinghurst, New South Wales
– 29 August 1918 in Somme
, France
) was an Australia
n freestyle
swimmer of the 1900s and 1910s, who won silver in the 100m freestyle at the 1912 Summer Olympics
in Stockholm
. He also won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay. He was killed in the First World War during the Battle of Somme in an attack on a German
trench. Healy was the second swimmer behind Frederick Lane
to represent Australia in Swimming and has been allocated the number "2" by Swimming Australia
on a list of all Australians who have represented Australia at an Open International Level.
The son of a barrister, Healy was born in Darlinghurst, an inner-city suburb of Sydney
, but moved with his family to the rural town of Bowral where he received his primary schooling. He moved to Sydney
in 1896, joining the East Sydney Swimming Club, of which Frederick Lane
was also a member. Healy was also a member of the North Steyne Surf Lifesaving Club.
In 1904, Healy posted the fastest ever time in the 100yd freestyle, 58s, but there were no official world records at the time. In 1905, his time of 58s in the 110yd freestyle at the Australasia
n Championships equalled the world record to earn him his first Australasian title. He was a proponent of the new crawl stroke, raising eyebrows among classicists who perceived it to be inelegant.
In 1906, Healy was sent to the 1906 Intercalated Olympics, one of only five athletes for whom the necessary funding was allocated. At the Games in Athens
, Healy came third in the 100m freestyle behind the United States
' Charles Daniel and Hungary
's Zoltan Halmay
. Halmay and Daniels were the gold and silver medallists respectively at the 1904 Summer Olympics
.
After the Games, Healy toured Europe
, giving many Europeans the first chance to see the crawl stroke; he competed in Hamburg
, winning the Kaiser
's Cup, and also competed in Belgium
, Netherlands
and Britain
. He won the 220yd British Championships, but was thwarted in the 100yd event by Daniels.
Returning to Australia, Healy missed the Australian season. In 1908 he won the 110yd freestyle, but was unable to attend the 1908 Summer Olympics
due to a lack of funds. In 1909 and 1910, he again successfully defended his Australian championships. In 1911, Healy inflicted the first defeat on Frank Beaurepaire
in any race, after beating him in a 440yd race. However, that year, Harold Hardwick
claimed Healy's 110yd titles.
In 1912, Healy came third in the 110yd, 220yd and 880yd events at the Australasian titles to qualify for the Australasian
team at the 1912 Summer Olympics
. (At the time, Australia sent a combined team with New Zealand
).
In Stockholm, Healy entered the 100m event with fellow Australian Bill Longworth and American Duke Kahanamoku
. All three qualified for the semi-final, with Kahanamoku clearly the quickest. Healy and Longworth then qualified from the first semifinal, but the three Americans, who were scheduled to qualify in the second semi-final did not, due an error by their team management. However, Healy intervened and assisted in an appeal to allow the Americans to swim another special race in order to qualify for the final. Despite protestation from other delegations, the Americans were allowed a separate race, with Kahanamoku qualifying for the final. In the final, Kahanamoku won easily, by 1.2s, over a bodylength, with Healy in second place. Healy's sportsmanship effectively cost him the gold medal.
In the 400m freestyle, Healy set a world record in his heat, but this was improved in the semifinals by George Hodgson
of Canada
and Hardwick, by over ten seconds. Healy finished fourth in the final. In the 4x200m freestyle, he combined with Hardwick, Leslie Boardman
and Malcolm Champion
to hold off the Kahanamoku-led Americans. After the Games, Healy toured Europe, where he lowered Beaurepaire's 220yd world record by more than three seconds in Scotland
, before retiring and returning to Australia.
Healy encouraged the practise of swimming daily for exercise, and was active in lifesaving at Manly beach, winning the Royal Humane Society
silver medal for saving numerous surfers. He wrote a booklet, The Crawl Stroke, which had a circulation of 20,000 for free distribution in the United Kingdom
.
In September 1915, Healy decided to enlist in the Australian Defence Force
, and served as a quartermaster sergeant in Egypt
and France
. After attending officer training in Cambridge
, he became a second lieutenant in June 1918 in the 19th Sportsman's Battalion. He was killed in action on the Somme
battlefront.
Healy was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame
in 1981.
Darlinghurst, New South Wales
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...
– 29 August 1918 in Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
swimmer of the 1900s and 1910s, who won silver in the 100m freestyle at the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. He also won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay. He was killed in the First World War during the Battle of Somme in an attack on a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
trench. Healy was the second swimmer behind Frederick Lane
Frederick Lane
Frederick Claude Vivian Lane was an Australian swimmer.Lane, from Manly, New South Wales, was the first Australian to represent his country in swimming at the Olympic Games, although he was actually a part of the British team when he competed at the 1900 Paris Games and won two gold medals.He...
to represent Australia in Swimming and has been allocated the number "2" by Swimming Australia
Swimming Australia
Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive swimming in Australia. The body currently has approximately 90,000 registered members nationally in 1100 clubs across the country, which includes swimmers, coaches, officials, administrators and volunteers...
on a list of all Australians who have represented Australia at an Open International Level.
The son of a barrister, Healy was born in Darlinghurst, an inner-city suburb of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, but moved with his family to the rural town of Bowral where he received his primary schooling. He moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in 1896, joining the East Sydney Swimming Club, of which Frederick Lane
Frederick Lane
Frederick Claude Vivian Lane was an Australian swimmer.Lane, from Manly, New South Wales, was the first Australian to represent his country in swimming at the Olympic Games, although he was actually a part of the British team when he competed at the 1900 Paris Games and won two gold medals.He...
was also a member. Healy was also a member of the North Steyne Surf Lifesaving Club.
In 1904, Healy posted the fastest ever time in the 100yd freestyle, 58s, but there were no official world records at the time. In 1905, his time of 58s in the 110yd freestyle at the Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
n Championships equalled the world record to earn him his first Australasian title. He was a proponent of the new crawl stroke, raising eyebrows among classicists who perceived it to be inelegant.
In 1906, Healy was sent to the 1906 Intercalated Olympics, one of only five athletes for whom the necessary funding was allocated. At the Games in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Healy came third in the 100m freestyle behind the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' Charles Daniel and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
's Zoltan Halmay
Zoltán Halmay
Zoltán Halmay was a Hungarian Olympic swimmer. He competed in four Olympics , winning the following medals:* 1900: silver , bronze * 1904: gold...
. Halmay and Daniels were the gold and silver medallists respectively at the 1904 Summer Olympics
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...
.
After the Games, Healy toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, giving many Europeans the first chance to see the crawl stroke; he competed in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, winning the Kaiser
Kaiser
Kaiser is the German title meaning "Emperor", with Kaiserin being the female equivalent, "Empress". Like the Russian Czar it is directly derived from the Latin Emperors' title of Caesar, which in turn is derived from the personal name of a branch of the gens Julia, to which Gaius Julius Caesar,...
's Cup, and also competed in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. He won the 220yd British Championships, but was thwarted in the 100yd event by Daniels.
Returning to Australia, Healy missed the Australian season. In 1908 he won the 110yd freestyle, but was unable to attend the 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
due to a lack of funds. In 1909 and 1910, he again successfully defended his Australian championships. In 1911, Healy inflicted the first defeat on Frank Beaurepaire
Frank Beaurepaire
Sir Francis "Frank" Joseph Edmund Beaurepaire 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 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting 15 world records.He was also a decorated...
in any race, after beating him in a 440yd race. However, that year, Harold Hardwick
Harold Hardwick
Harold Hampton Hardwick was a versatile Australian sports star of the early 20th century - an Olympic gold-medal swimmer, national heavyweight boxing champion and a state representative rugby union player...
claimed Healy's 110yd titles.
In 1912, Healy came third in the 110yd, 220yd and 880yd events at the Australasian titles to qualify for the Australasian
Australasia at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Australasia was the name of a combined team at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, consisting of 26 athletes from Australia and New Zealand...
team at the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
. (At the time, Australia sent a combined team with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
).
In Stockholm, Healy entered the 100m event with fellow Australian Bill Longworth and American Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian swimmer, actor, lawman, early beach volleyball player and businessman credited with spreading the sport of surfing. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming.-Early years:The name "Duke" is not a title, but a given name...
. All three qualified for the semi-final, with Kahanamoku clearly the quickest. Healy and Longworth then qualified from the first semifinal, but the three Americans, who were scheduled to qualify in the second semi-final did not, due an error by their team management. However, Healy intervened and assisted in an appeal to allow the Americans to swim another special race in order to qualify for the final. Despite protestation from other delegations, the Americans were allowed a separate race, with Kahanamoku qualifying for the final. In the final, Kahanamoku won easily, by 1.2s, over a bodylength, with Healy in second place. Healy's sportsmanship effectively cost him the gold medal.
George Hodgson
George Ritchie Hodgson was a Canadian swimmer of the early 20th century, and considered by many to be the greatest swimmer in Canadian history.He was born and died in Montreal....
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Hardwick, by over ten seconds. Healy finished fourth in the final. In the 4x200m freestyle, he combined with Hardwick, Leslie Boardman
Leslie Boardman
Leslie Boardman was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1910s, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....
and Malcolm Champion
Malcolm Champion
Malcolm Eadie Champion was New Zealand's first Olympic gold medallist, and the first swimmer to represent New Zealand at an Olympic Games...
to hold off the Kahanamoku-led Americans. After the Games, Healy toured Europe, where he lowered Beaurepaire's 220yd world record by more than three seconds in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, before retiring and returning to Australia.
Healy encouraged the practise of swimming daily for exercise, and was active in lifesaving at Manly beach, winning the Royal Humane Society
Royal Humane Society
The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned, for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning....
silver medal for saving numerous surfers. He wrote a booklet, The Crawl Stroke, which had a circulation of 20,000 for free distribution in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
In September 1915, Healy decided to enlist in the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
, and served as a quartermaster sergeant in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. After attending officer training in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, he became a second lieutenant in June 1918 in the 19th Sportsman's Battalion. He was killed in action on the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
battlefront.
Healy was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame
International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...
in 1981.