Sydney Battersby

{{short description|British swimmer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox swimmer

| name = Sydney Battersby

| image = 1908 Thomas Battersby.JPG

| image_size = 150

| caption = Battersby in 1908

| fullname = Thomas Sydney Battersby

| nicknames =

| national_team = Great Britain

| strokes = Freestyle

| club = Wigan Swim Club

| coach =

| collegeteam =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|11|18|df=y}}

| birth_place = Platt Bridge, Wigan, United Kingdom

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|9|3|1887|11|18|df=y}}

| death_place = Sydney, Australia

| height =

| weight =

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Men's swimming}}

{{MedalCountry | Great Britain}}

{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games}}

{{MedalSilver | 1908 London | 1500 m freestyle}}

{{MedalBronze | 1912 Stockholm | 4×200 m freestyle}}

}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/47198 |title=Sydney Battersby |work=Olympedia |access-date=11 April 2021}}

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).{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1908/SWI/mens-1500-metres-freestyle-final.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417044624/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1908/SWI/mens-1500-metres-freestyle-final.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Men's 1,500 metres Freestyle Final |access-date=19 May 2015}} He also advanced to the semi-finals in the 400-metre freestyle.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/sydney-battersby-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417165411/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ba/sydney-battersby-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Sydney Battersby |access-date=19 May 2015}}

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.

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.ishof.org/sydney-battersby.html |title=Sydney Battersby (GBR) |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=International Swimming Hall of Fame |access-date=19 May 2015 |archive-date=20 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520163709/http://www.ishof.org/sydney-battersby.html |url-status=dead }} 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.David Prentice, "[http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/other-sport/merseysides-100-olympians-no-43-3342197 Merseyside's 100 Olympians: No. 43 Thomas Sydney Battersby]", The Liverpool Echo (14 June 2012). Retrieved 19 May 2015.

He was born in Platt Bridge, near Wigan, Lancashire, England. He died in Sydney, Australia. He was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 2007.