Willie Burns (swimmer)
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 18 November 1910 Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 9 October 1967 (aged 56) Troon, Scotland | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||
| Strokes | freestyle | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Maryhill Victoria Thistle Glasgow Police | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William Burns (18 November 1910 – 9 October 1967)[1] was a Scottish competitive swimmer who specialsed in freestyle and represented Scotland at the 1934 British Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games), winning a bronze medal. He was also selected for the 1928 Summer Olympics for the relay team.
Biography
Burns was a member of the Maryhill Victoria club and was the Scottish junior and Western Counties champion in 1926.[2] By 1928 he was swimming for the Thistle Club, Glasgow and was breaking Scottish records.[3]
Burns was selected for the Great Britain 4x200 metres freestyle relay team for the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam but did not start.[1] In 1931 he was described as being one of the greatest swimmers that Scotland had ever produced.[4] By 1933 and swimming for the Glasgow Police club he had held every Scottish championship from 50 yards to long distance and was once again considered to be one of Scotland's outstanding post-war swimmers.[5]
He represented the Scottish team and won a bronze medal in the 4×200 yd freestyle relay event at the 1934 British Empire Games in London, England.[6][7]
By trade he was a Glasgow police inspector.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Willie Burns". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "Swimming Champion". Daily Record. 18 October 1926. Retrieved 24 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Swimming Record". Edinburgh Evening News. 30 January 1928. Retrieved 24 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "St Andrews Swimming Notes". St. Andrews Citizen. 18 July 1931. Retrieved 24 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "William Burns" (PDF). Scottish Swim Archives. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "England London 1934". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ "William Burns". Team Scotland. Retrieved 24 August 2025.