Born Claremont WA
1 April 1919 – 9 July 2011
Percy Oliver was an Australian champion backstroke and freestyle swimmer from 1934 to 1940. He won 13 Australian titles (11senior and two junior), and represented Australia at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin and the 1938 Empire Games in Sydney.
Oliver’s climb to national and international prominence began in 1934 when he won the national under-16 100yds freestyle title. A year later he won the Australian junior 100yds freestyle and backstroke events.
In 1936 Oliver, while still a student at Hale School, won the 100yds backstroke title at the Australian National Games in Adelaide. That performance earned him a place in the Australian Olympic team for Berlin where he finished seventh in the 100yd backstroke final. Two years later Oliver won the Empire Games 110yds backstroke gold medal in 1min 7.9sec.
His time stood as an Australian record for 17 years. He also won a bronze medal as a member of the Australian 330yds medley relay team. Oliver did not compete in 1939 but came back powerfully to dominate the Australian championships in 1940. He won seven events – all the freestyle titles, the 110yds backstroke and the medley. He won the Barney Kieran Shield – awarded to the State achieving the highest number of first placings at the championships – for WA as a virtual one-man team.
The 1940 Australian Championships brought Oliver’s career to a climax and conclusion. He enlisted in the Army later that year and did not compete after World War II.