Lloyd Oscar Valberg (14 April 1922 – 26 March 1997) was a Singaporean high jumper who became the first Singaporean to compete at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

after he participated in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

that were held in London, United Kingdom.

Early years

Valberg was born in Singapore under British rule on 14 April 1922. He took up the high jump when he was 17, and in 1947 he broke the Singapore record with a jump of 1.87m.

Career

Valberg served in the Singapore Fire Brigade from 1937 to the end of World War II and then at

Port Authority A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

where he became the Chief Fire Officer until 1972.

Athletics career

Valberg qualified for the high jump final at the

where he finished 14th. Valberg finished seventh in the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

120 yards hurdles and eleventh in the high jump. He finished third in the 110 metres hurdles at the

1951 Asian Games The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games (), were a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad, 1951 Asiad, and New Dehli 1951 (). A total of 489 athl ...

, while representing

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and was also the country's flag bearer.

Personal life

Valberg was a grand-uncle to Singapore's first Olympic gold medalist,

Joseph Schooling Joseph Isaac Schooling (born 16 June 1995) is a Singaporean former professional swimmer who specialised in butterfly, freestyle, and medley events. He was the gold medalist in the 100m butterfly at the 2016 Olympics, achieving Singapore's ...

, in the 100m Butterfly in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. It was Lloyd who inspired Schooling to compete in the Olympics. Valberg died in Perth in 1997.

References

External links

* * 1922 births 1997 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Singapore Singaporean male high jumpers Singaporean male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Malaya Athletes (track and field) at the 1951 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for Singapore Medalists at the 1951 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Singapore-athletics-bio-stub