Paulo Radmilovic
Encyclopedia
Paulo Francesco "Raddy" Radmilovic (5 March 1886 – 29 September 1968) was a Welsh
water polo
player and swimmer of Croatian
and Irish origin who won four Olympic titles in a 22 year Olympic career. He won four gold medals across three successive Olympic Games
, a record which stood for a Great Britain Olympic athlete until broken by Sir Steve Redgrave
when he won his fifth gold medal at Sydney
in 2000. In 1928, he was the first person to compete for Britain at five Olympic Games, a record that would remain until surpassed by fencer Bill Hoskyns
in 1976.
, Wales
, the third son of Antun Radmilović, a native of Dubrovnik
who relocated to Cardiff in 1860s and became the landlord of the Glastonbury Arms pub in Bute Street. His mother was born in Cardiff, the daughter of Irish immigrants.
His paternal ancestors were from Makarska
; grandfather from Makarska and grandmother from Dubrovnik were married and living in Dubrovnik
and water polo
for nearly 30 years and was still an active swimmer well into his seventies. He was also a competent golfer and footballer.
He won his first Amateur Swimming Association title in 1907 when victorious in the open water 5 mile race in the River Thames
. His noted versatility came to the fore two years later when he won the 100 yards freestyle. He won the English Long Distance Championships in 1907 and 1925, the latter at age 39. A year later, he won the English One Mile Championship at age 40. A reporter for the 'Swimming Times' wrote of his 1925 victory:
In all he won nine titles over a 19 year span at tremendously varying distances. His victories at the Welsh national championship took place over an ever greater timespan. A 100 yards title at the age of 15 in 1901 and a 440 yards victory at the age of 43 in 1929 book-ending his career.
Intercalated Games
where he finished 4th in 100 metres freestyle and 5th in the 400 metres event. In the 1 mile event he did not finish.
Throughout his Olympic career he lived in Weston-super-Mare and represented the town's swimming and water polo clubs.
In 1908
he won a gold medal
as part of the British
water polo
team that defeated Belgium 9-2 in the final. Radmilovic scored twice in the final. Two days later he was drafted into the 4×200 metre relay squad when another swimmer withdrew due to illness and swam the second leg of a dramatic race. Hungary
appeared to be cruising to victory when anchor leg swimmer Zoltán Halmay
began to lose consciousness in the water. Halmay struggled to the finish but Henry Taylor
had touched four seconds earlier to give the British victory. Radmilovic also competed in three individual freestyle events but failed to make a final.
He won his third career gold as part of the British
Water Polo
team at the 1912 Summer Olympics
in Stockholm
. The Austrians were defeated 8-0 in the final.
Radmilovic's fourth and final gold came at the 1920 Summer Olympics
in Antwerp albeit in eventful circumstances. Great Britain and Belgium had impressed in reaching the final and the game itself was a tight one decided when Radmilovic scored to put the British 3-2 ahead. On the final whistle incensed Belgian spectators attempted to attack the British players. Armed police guarded the team as they left the pool.
He competed as a member of the British team in both the 1924 and 1928 Olympic water polo tournaments without medal success. He was 42 years old when his Olympic career ended.
His record of four gold medals was unrivalled by any British Olympian until Sir Steve Redgrave
equalled and eventually broke it by winning his fifth title in the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney
If one includes the 1906 Intercalated Games
, he competed at six Olympic Games. It would only be in 1976 when another athlete, fencer Bill Hoskyns
, would compete at six Games for Great Britain.
, England for many years, and was still swimming 400m a day at age seventy-eight.
In 1967, he was inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame
. He was the second water polo player (after American Wallace O'Connor
) and the third Briton (after coach Matthew Mann
and English Channel swimmer Captain Matthew Webb
) to be inducted.
Radmilovic died in Weston-super-Mare
, England
in 1968 and is buried in Weston Cemetery on Milton Road. His son took over the running of the hotel and continued to display Paulo's vast trophy collection.
Paul was a Member of Worlebury Golf Club,Weston-super-Mare. He was club Captain in 1938.
in 1988.
To celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of his 1908 double-gold Olympic performance, a plaque was placed on the Cardiff International Pool to honour him, paid for by the 2012 London Olympics Committee and the Welsh Assembly.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
player and swimmer of Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Irish origin who won four Olympic titles in a 22 year Olympic career. He won four gold medals across three successive Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, a record which stood for a Great Britain Olympic athlete until broken by Sir Steve Redgrave
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave CBE is an English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals...
when he won his fifth gold medal at 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 2000. In 1928, he was the first person to compete for Britain at five Olympic Games, a record that would remain until surpassed by fencer Bill Hoskyns
Bill Hoskyns
Henry William Furse "Bill" Hoskyns was a British fencer who appeared at six Olympic Games, winning two silver medals in 1960 and 1964. No British fencer has won an Olympic medal since. He was born in London. He competed with all three weapons but he was especially effective at Épée, where he was...
in 1976.
Biography
Radmilovic was born in CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, the third son of Antun Radmilović, a native of Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
who relocated to Cardiff in 1860s and became the landlord of the Glastonbury Arms pub in Bute Street. His mother was born in Cardiff, the daughter of Irish immigrants.
His paternal ancestors were from Makarska
Makarska
Makarska is a small town on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia, about southeast of Split and northwest of Dubrovnik. It has a population of 13,716 residents. Administratively Makarska has the status of a town and it is part of the Split-Dalmatia County....
; grandfather from Makarska and grandmother from Dubrovnik were married and living in Dubrovnik
Swimming career
Radmilovic made his debut for the Wales national water polo team at the age of 15 in 1901 and at the time was the youngest international player in the history of the sport. He competed in international swimmingSwimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
for nearly 30 years and was still an active swimmer well into his seventies. He was also a competent golfer and footballer.
He won his first Amateur Swimming Association title in 1907 when victorious in the open water 5 mile race in the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. His noted versatility came to the fore two years later when he won the 100 yards freestyle. He won the English Long Distance Championships in 1907 and 1925, the latter at age 39. A year later, he won the English One Mile Championship at age 40. A reporter for the 'Swimming Times' wrote of his 1925 victory:
Until last year he had never held the 1 mile championship of England, but at the East India docks he had quite a comfortable win. "Raddy" believes in careful and systematic training so that before the race, he has some idea as to what the final result would be. Before the mile championship, he is credited with saying: "I shall beat 24 minutes, 30 seconds." He won easily in 24.22. How many of the younger generation could demonstrate such judgment of pace over a distance?
In all he won nine titles over a 19 year span at tremendously varying distances. His victories at the Welsh national championship took place over an ever greater timespan. A 100 yards title at the age of 15 in 1901 and a 440 yards victory at the age of 43 in 1929 book-ending his career.
Olympic career
His Olympic career began as a swimmer at the 19061906 Summer Olympics
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games in Athens" by the International Olympic Committee...
Intercalated Games
Intercalated Games
The Intercalated Olympic Games were to be a series of International Olympic Games half-way between what we now call Games of the Olympiad. This proposed series of games, intercalated in the Olympic Games cycle, was to always be held in Athens, and were to have equal status with the international...
where he finished 4th in 100 metres freestyle and 5th in the 400 metres event. In the 1 mile event he did not finish.
Throughout his Olympic career he lived in Weston-super-Mare and represented the town's swimming and water polo clubs.
In 1908
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...
he won a gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
as part of the British
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...
water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
team that defeated Belgium 9-2 in the final. Radmilovic scored twice in the final. Two days later he was drafted into the 4×200 metre relay squad when another swimmer withdrew due to illness and swam the second leg of a dramatic race. 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...
appeared to be cruising to victory when anchor leg swimmer Zoltán Halmay
Zoltán Halmay
Zoltán Halmay was a Hungarian Olympic swimmer. He competed in four Olympics , winning the following medals:* 1900: silver , bronze * 1904: gold...
began to lose consciousness in the water. Halmay struggled to the finish but Henry Taylor
Henry Taylor (swimmer)
Henry Taylor was a British freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics, in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He served in the Royal Navy during the First World War, and continued to swim competitively until 1926...
had touched four seconds earlier to give the British victory. Radmilovic also competed in three individual freestyle events but failed to make a final.
He won his third career gold as part of the British
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...
Water Polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
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...
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...
. The Austrians were defeated 8-0 in the final.
Radmilovic's fourth and final gold came at the 1920 Summer Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
in Antwerp albeit in eventful circumstances. Great Britain and Belgium had impressed in reaching the final and the game itself was a tight one decided when Radmilovic scored to put the British 3-2 ahead. On the final whistle incensed Belgian spectators attempted to attack the British players. Armed police guarded the team as they left the pool.
He competed as a member of the British team in both the 1924 and 1928 Olympic water polo tournaments without medal success. He was 42 years old when his Olympic career ended.
His record of four gold medals was unrivalled by any British Olympian until Sir Steve Redgrave
Steve Redgrave
Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave CBE is an English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals...
equalled and eventually broke it by winning his fifth title in the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in 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...
If one includes the 1906 Intercalated Games
Intercalated Games
The Intercalated Olympic Games were to be a series of International Olympic Games half-way between what we now call Games of the Olympiad. This proposed series of games, intercalated in the Olympic Games cycle, was to always be held in Athens, and were to have equal status with the international...
, he competed at six Olympic Games. It would only be in 1976 when another athlete, fencer Bill Hoskyns
Bill Hoskyns
Henry William Furse "Bill" Hoskyns was a British fencer who appeared at six Olympic Games, winning two silver medals in 1960 and 1964. No British fencer has won an Olympic medal since. He was born in London. He competed with all three weapons but he was especially effective at Épée, where he was...
, would compete at six Games for Great Britain.
Post-Olympics
He ran the Imperial Hotel in Weston-super-MareWeston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, England for many years, and was still swimming 400m a day at age seventy-eight.
In 1967, he was inducted in 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...
. He was the second water polo player (after American Wallace O'Connor
Wallace O'Connor
James Wallace "Wally" O'Connor was an American swimmer and water polo player who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics, 1928 Summer Olympics, 1932 Summer Olympics and 1936 Summer Olympics....
) and the third Briton (after coach Matthew Mann
Matthew Mann
Matthew "Matt" Mann II was a British-born American college swimming coach and was coach of the men's swim team in the 1952 Summer Olympics that won four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal....
and English Channel swimmer Captain Matthew Webb
Matthew Webb
Captain Matthew Webb was the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. On 25 August 1875 he swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours.-Early life and career:...
) to be inducted.
Radmilovic died in Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1968 and is buried in Weston Cemetery on Milton Road. His son took over the running of the hotel and continued to display Paulo's vast trophy collection.
Paul was a Member of Worlebury Golf Club,Weston-super-Mare. He was club Captain in 1938.
After death
He was one of the original ten sports people inducted in to the initial Welsh Sports Hall of FameWelsh Sports Hall of Fame
The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame is a charitable organization created to commemorate the sporting achievements and preserve the artifacts of Welsh athletes. It was established in 1980 from the memorabilia collection of Welsh radio announcer G. V. Wynne-Jones...
in 1988.
To celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of his 1908 double-gold Olympic performance, a plaque was placed on the Cardiff International Pool to honour him, paid for by the 2012 London Olympics Committee and the Welsh Assembly.