Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | John Charles Preston Besford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Chorlton-cum-Hardy, England | 30 January 1911|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 26 February 1993 82) Spain | (aged|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Backstroke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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John Charles Preston Besford, OBE (30 January 1911 – 26 February 1993) was an English competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships, and England in the British Empire games, during the 1930s. Besford competed primarily in the backstroke.
He was born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Lancashire, England. [1] and died in Spain. [2]
Besford was European 100-metre backstroke champion in 1934. He won the bronze medal for England at the 1930 British Empire Games and silver at the 1934 British Empire Games in London, both in the 100-yard backstroke event. In 1934 he was also a member of the English team which won the bronze medal in the medley relay contest. Besford also competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics where he finished sixth in the 100-metre backstroke. Eight years later he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100-metre backstroke.
He studied dentistry at The University of Manchester, [3] and after serving as an officer in World War II, he taught dentistry at the University of Beijing, China. He later spent time in Yokohama, Japan, before returning to the UK to operate a dental practice in Brighton. [4] He was appointed to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1975 New Year's Honours List for services to the British community of Tokyo. [5]
Andrew David Jameson is an English sports commentator and former competitive swimmer. Active as an elite swimmer in the mid-to-late 1980s he represented Great Britain in two consecutive Summer Olympics, the FINA World Championships, LEN European Championships, as well as England in the Commonwealth Games. At his peak between 1986 and 1988 he won the gold medal in 100 metre butterfly at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, the 1987 European Aquatics Championships and the 1987 Summer Universiade, as well as the 100 metre freestyle gold at the same Universiade. Winning the bronze medal at the 1986 World Aquatics Championships, Jameson's career in the pool culminated in winning the bronze medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics, his second and final Olympic Games.
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