Michael Victor Alexander Lindberg (26 July 1875 – 28 April 1951) was a Fiji-born

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

swimmer and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player. He was part of the Great Britain team that won the water polo event at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

in Paris. He had hoped to compete in swimming at Paris, but his entry arrived too late. Lindberg was born in Fiji to Swedish and Irish parents, who moved to New Zealand when he was young. Arriving in London shortly before the 1900 Olympic Games, he was selected by the

Royal Life Saving Society The Royal Life Saving Society UK is a drowning prevention charity founded in 1891 in the UK. It has had Royal Patronage since 1904. History The Royal Life Saving Society UK is a national charity, founded in 1891 by William Henry, with the purp ...

to compete, and was given temporary membership of the Osborne Swimming Club of Manchester, which was representing Great Britain in the water polo event. He played in all three of the team's matches, in which they were undefeated and won the gold medal. His participation was not always well known, due to poor record keeping, and because records had his name misspelled. He is not included in the official list of the team (which includes a member who died during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

before the Games) but subsequent research concludes that he did compete and that he should be considered a New Zealander. On this basis he is the first New Zealander to have competed at the Olympic Games and the first New Zealand Olympic champion. Lindberg returned to New Zealand and was a farmer in South Auckland. He played rugby for Onewhero and Tuakau, and was a life member of the Pukekawa tennis club. His descendants were presented with a medal by the president of the

New Zealand Olympic Committee The New Zealand Olympic Committee (before 1994, The ''New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association'') is both the National Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Association in New Zealand responsible for selecting athletes to re ...

Mike Stanley Robert Michael Stanley (born June 25, 1963) is an American former college and professional baseball player who was a catcher in Major League Baseball for fifteen years. Stanley played college baseball for the University of Florida, and the ...

in 2014.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindberg, Victor 1875 births 1951 deaths Water polo players at the 1900 Summer Olympics New Zealand male water polo players Fijian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of Swedish descent New Zealand people of Irish descent Fijian people of Irish descent Fijian people of Swedish descent Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand Olympic medalists in water polo Swimmers from Auckland

See also

References

External links