Nigel Roderick Cluer (born 12 May 1953) is an Australian former

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

Biography

Cluer,

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

n by birth, spent most of his early childhood in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and later attended Sydney's

Barker College Barker College is an independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, primary and secondary Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school, located in Hornsby, New ...

as well as Port Moresby High School in pre-independence Papua New Guinea. He represented Papua New Guinea for the majority of his swimming career. A three-time participant at the

South Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2023 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. ...

, Cluer's first appearance was as a 14-year old in 1966 and he claimed a bronze medal in the medley relay. He won four gold medals at the

1969 South Pacific Games The 3rd South Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 1969 (), held on 13–23 August 1969 in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, was the third edition of the South Pacific Games. A total of 1,150 athletes participated in the games. Participating ...

in Port Moresby and a further five at the

1971 South Pacific Games The 4th South Pacific Games (; ), also known as Papeete 1971 (), held in Papeete, Tahiti from 25 August to 5 September 1971, was the fourth edition of the South Pacific Games. Approximately 1,500 male athletes and 500 female athletes participate ...

in Papeete. Cluer was a member of the Papua New Guinean squad for the

1970 British Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all eve ...

in Edinburgh, but had to withdraw after contracting mumps. He was the only Papua New Guinea swimmer to feature at the 1973 World Championships, where he came fifth in the 200 metre breaststroke. In 1974, Cluer represented Australia at the

British Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 193 ...

in Christchurch, as Papua New Guinea opted not to send a team. He swam breaststroke for the silver medal-winning medley relay team. Cluer, a dentist by profession, attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

on a swimming scholarship.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cluer, Nigel Living people Australian male breaststroke swimmers Papua New Guinean male swimmers Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games People educated at Barker College Sportspeople from Kadoma, Zimbabwe University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 1953 births Pacific Games medalists in swimming Pacific Games gold medalists for Papua New Guinea Pacific Games silver medalists for Papua New Guinea Pacific Games bronze medalists for Papua New Guinea 20th-century Australian sportsmen