Robert Charles Pirie (April 30, 1916 – January 22, 1984) was a Canadian freestyle swimmer who competed internationally in the 1930s.

Background

Pirie was unanimously selected as the Lou Marsh Trophy winner for 1939, recognizing Canada's top athlete. That year, in Hawaii, he broke the 220-yard world record long held by

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

and finished third in the U.S. national championships in the 110-yard and 220-yard freestyle races, with Japanese swimmers taking the top two spots in both races. At the time, he held every Canadian freestyle swimming record from 100 metres to two miles. Earlier, Pirie won silver and bronze in freestyle events at the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

. His sister, Irene Pirie, also won individual silver and bronze freestyle medals at the same games. Four years later, at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games were the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 yea ...

, Pirie won gold in the 110-yard freestyle and the 440-yard freestyle events, and silver in the 1650-yard freestyle race. Pirie attended and participated in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. In the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle, he was eliminated in the semi-finals. He was also a member of the Canadian relay team which finished seventh in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay. Pirie was inducted into the

Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame is an honour roll of the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, and builders (officials, administrators, and volunteers). It was established in 1949. Selections are made by a committee appointed by the Cana ...

in 1975. The Bob Pirie Trophy is presented each year by Swim Ontario to the top male swimmer in Ontario as selected by the Ontario Swimming Coaches' Association. The female swimmer of the year receives the Irene Pirie Trophy. Pirie was posthumously inducted into the

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirie, Bob 1916 births 1984 deaths Canadian male freestyle swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Northern Star Award winners Olympic swimmers for Canada Swimmers from Toronto Swimmers at the 1934 British Empire Games Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1938 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games 20th-century Canadian sportsmen

Background

See also

References