 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | William de Gruchy | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 May 1930 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Sprinting | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
William de Gruchy (born 10 May 1930) is an Australian former athlete who specialised in sprinting.
| | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | William de Gruchy | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 May 1930 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Sprinting | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
William de Gruchy (born 10 May 1930) is an Australian former athlete who specialised in sprinting.
A Western Australian athlete, de Gruchy was raised in the Perth suburb of Mount Hawthorn. [1]
De Gruchy studied at both St Patrick's Boys' School and Aquinas College in Perth. [1]
In 1950, de Gruchy represented Australia at the British Empire Games in Auckland, where he won a silver medal in the 100 yard sprint and was a member of the gold medal-winning 4 × 110 yards relay team. [2]
De Gruchy won the national 100 yard sprint title for the only time in 1951, edging three-time champion John Treloar. [3] He was overlooked in favour of John Treloar for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. [4]
At the 1952 WA state championships, de Gruchy ran the 100 yard sprint in a wind assisted 9.6 seconds. [5]
Marjorie Jackson-Nelson is an Australian former athlete and politician. She was the Governor of South Australia between 2001 and 2007. She finished her sporting career with two Olympic and seven Commonwealth Games Gold Medals, six individual world records and every Australian state and national title she contested from 1950 to 1954.
Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert, was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres, 220 yards and 440 yards. Cuthbert also contributed to Australian relay teams completing a win in the 4 × 100 metres, 4 × 110 yards, 4 × 200 metres and 4 × 220 yards. Cuthbert had a distinctive running style, with a high knee lift and mouth wide open. She was named in 1998 an Australian National Treasure and was inducted as a Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2000.
Shirley Barbara de la Hunty AO, MBE, known as Shirley Strickland during her early career, was an Australian athlete. She won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports.
Edwin William Carr Jr. was an Australian athlete and a surgeon. He won two gold medals at the 1950 British Empire Games in the 440 yards and 4 x 440 yard relay. He represented Australia at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and was the son of Slip Carr who ran for Australia at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Marlene Judith Mathews AO is a retired Australian Olympic sprinter. She has been described as 'one of Australia's greatest and unluckiest' champions.
Peter Frank Radford is a former British sprinter, who competed at 100 and 200 metres, broke world records, and won Olympic medals, despite having been seriously ill as a child due to a hole in his kidney.
John Francis Treloar was a track and field athlete, who is considered to have been one of Australia's greatest male sprinters. He was ranked as one of the world's fastest men between 1947 and 1952. A triple gold medallist at the 1950 British Empire Games, Treloar made the 100 m final at the 1952 Summer Olympics finishing sixth – just 0.1 s behind the winner – in the closest finish in Olympic history.
Clara Decima Hamilton (née Norman), MBE was an Australian athlete. She was the only Australian woman who won five gold medals at the 1938 British Empire Games.
Michael George Raymond Agostini was a Trinidadian track and field athlete. He was the first athlete from his country to win a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, when he won the 100 yards final in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 31 July 1954.
Seraphino "Kelly" Antao was a runner of Goan descent from Kenya. He won two events at the 1962 Commonwealth Games, making him the first Kenyan athlete to win a gold medal at an international level.
Athletics is a popular sport in Australia, with around 34,000 athletes, officials and coaches currently registered with the national association.
Shirley Ngarita Peterson was a New Zealand track and field athlete. She represented her country at the 1950 British Empire Games, winning a silver medal in the women's 440 yards relay. From 1980, she became active in masters athletics, setting world records in various events and age-group categories, and winning multiple world masters athletics championship titles.
Lesley Martha Gibson was a New Zealand sprinter who, as Lesley Rowe, won a silver medal representing her country at the 1950 British Empire Games.
William John Brockway was a male Welsh competitive swimmer.
Ruth Dickey was a New Zealand long jumper and sprinter who won a bronze medal in the long jump at the 1950 British Empire Games.
Shirley Lavina Louise Weinberg was an Australian former athlete who competed in the 100 yards and 220 yards and other sprint distances. She held numerous state and national women's sprint records, and at the 1947 Victorian Athletics Championships won all four sprint events, 75 yards through to 440 yards.
Francis Ettore Ponta was an Australian Paralympic competitor and coach. He competed in several sports including basketball, pentathlon, swimming and fencing. A paraplegic, he lost the use of both his legs after a tumour was removed from his spinal column when he was a teenager. Ponta was a member of Australia's first national wheelchair basketball team, and is credited with expanding the sport of wheelchair basketball in Western Australia. At the end of his competitive career, he became a coach, working with athletes such as Louise Sauvage, Priya Cooper, Madison de Rozario, Bruce Wallrodt and Bryan Stitfall. He died on 1 June 2011 at the age of 75 after a long illness.
William Heseltine was a three-time Australian cycling champion who while competing for Australia, won the 10-mile scratch on the track at the 1950 British Empire Games in New Zealand.
Lorraine McCoulough-Fry was an Australian Paralympic swimmer, athlete and table tennis player.
Robert William Lay was an Australian sprinter. He was Australian 100 yards champion three times. For years, Lay was regarded as the fastest man in Australia. He is best known for competing in the men's 100 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics and for his incredible work within his community.