| Sydney Battersby | |
| Fullname: | Thomas Sydney Battersby |
| National Team: | Great Britain |
| Strokes: | Freestyle |
| Club: | Wigan Swim Club |
| Birth Date: | 18 November 1887 |
| Birth Place: | Platt Bridge, Wigan, United Kingdom |
| Death Place: | Sydney, Australia |
Thomas Sydney Battersby (18 November 1887 - 3 September 1974) was an English competition swimmer who represented Great Britain in freestyle events at two consecutive Olympic Games.[1]
At the 1908 Summer Olympics hosted by London, he won a silver medal in the men's 1500-metre freestyle, finishing second with a time of 22:51.2, behind fellow Briton Henry Taylor (22:48.4), and ahead of Australian Frank Beaurepaire (22:56.2).[2] He also advanced to the semi-finals in the 400-metre freestyle.[3]
Four years later, at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, Battersby won a bronze medal as a member of the third-place British men's team in the 4×200-metre relay. He also reached the semi-finals of the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle.[3]
During his competitive swimming career, Battersby set four world records in freestyle events, including the 400-metre, 330-yard, 440-yard and one-mile distances.[4] Battersby had a reputation for physical toughness; at the 1908 Olympics, he continued to swim at the end of the 1500-metre event – a shorter distance than the imperial mile – in an attempt to break the world record for the mile freestyle. He fell short of breaking the world record but did set a new British national mark.[5]
He was born in Platt Bridge, near Wigan, Lancashire, England. He died in Sydney, Australia.[3] He was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 2007.[4]