Aquatics at the 1938 British Empire Games

Aquatics at the 1938 British Empire Games
VenueNorth Sydney Olympic Pool
LocationSydney, Australia
Dates5 – 12 February 1938
Diving event during the 1938 Games

At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Australia, there were two aquatics disciplines – swimming and diving. There were four diving events contested and 13 swimming events.[1][2]

The events were held at the North Sydney Olympic Pool, which was built two years earlier.[3]

Australia and England both won seven gold medals and three silver medals but Australia topped the aquatics medal table by virtue of winning six bronze medal to Englands's three.[4]

Medal table

  *   Host nation (Australia)

Medals won by nation with totals, ranked by number of golds—sortable
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Australia (AUS)*73616
2 England (ENG)73313
3 Canada (CAN)36615
4 South Africa (SAF)0303
5 British Guiana (BGU)0101
 Wales (WAL)0101
7 New Zealand (NZL)0011
 Scotland (SCO)0011
Totals (8 entries)17171751

Medal summary

Diving

Men's events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
3 m springboard Australia Ron Masters 126.36 England Doug Tomalin 124.78 Canada George Athans 117.90
10 m platform England Doug Tomalin 108.74 Australia Ron Masters 102.87 Canada George Athans 98.93

Women's events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
3 m springboard Australia Irene Donnett 91.18 Canada Lynda Adams 88.27 Canada Marie Sharkey 81.66
10 m platform Australia Lurline Hook 36.47 Canada Lynda Adams 36.39 Australia Irene Donnett 34.57

Swimming

Men's events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
110 yd freestyle Canada Bob Pirie 59.6 South Africa Terry Collard 60.8 Australia William Fleming 61.0
440 yd freestyle Canada Bob Pirie 4:54.6 England Bob Leivers 4:55.4 Australia Robin Biddulph 4:55.5
1650 yd freestyle England Bob Leivers 19:46.4 Canada Bob Pirie 19:59.2 England Norman Wainwright 20:17.4
110 yd backstroke Australia Percy Oliver 1:07.9 Canada Gordon Kerr 1:09.0 England Micky Taylor 1:09.3
220 yd breaststroke England John Davies 2:51.9 British Guiana Walter Spence 3:00.5 Canada Jimmy Prentice 3:00.8
4×220 yd freestyle relay England
Frederick Dove
Mostyn Ffrench-Williams
Norman Wainwright
Bob Leivers
9:19.0 Canada
George Burleigh
Gordon Devlin
Robert Hooper
Bob Pirie
9:20.2 Australia
Robert Wilshire
Noel Ryan
Robin Biddulph
William Fleming
9:32.9
3×110 yd medley relay England
Frederick Dove
John Davies
Micky Taylor
3:28.2 Canada
Gordon Kerr
Jimmy Prentice
Bob Pirie
3:30.5 Australia
Ernest Hobbs
Percy Oliver
William Fleming
3:31.8

Women's events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
110 yd freestyle Australia Evelyn de Lacy 1:10.1 Australia Dorothy Green 1:11.1 Canada Dorothy Lyon 1:12.1
440 yd freestyle Australia Dorothy Green 5:39.7 England Margaret Jeffery 5:40.2 New Zealand Mona Leydon 5:42.0
110 yd backstroke Australia Pat Norton 1:19.5 Wales Jeanne Greenland 1:22.5 Scotland Margot Hamilton 1:23.2
220 yd breaststroke England Doris Storey 3:06.3 South Africa Carla Gerke 3:12.1 Canada Joan Langdon 3:22.2
4×110 yd freestyle relay Canada
Noel Oxenbury
Dorothy Lyon
Mary Baggaley
Phyllis Dewar
4:48.3 Australia
Dorothy Green
Evelyn de Lacy
Margaret Rawson
Pat Norton
4:49.0 England
Edna Hughes
Joyce Harrowby
Margery Hinton
Zilpha Grant
4:50.1
3×110 yd medley relay England
Doris Storey
Lorna Frampton
Margery Hinton
3:57.7 South Africa
Carla Gerke
Hazel Holmes
Molly Ryde
4:07.5 Australia
Evelyn de Lacy
Pat Norton
Valerie George
4:10.0

Finals

Men

3 m springboard

Pos Athlete Pts
1 Australia Ron Masters 126.36
2 England Doug Tomalin 124.78
3 Canada George Athans 117.90
4 Australia George Johnston 111.39
5 Australia David Norris 110.62

10 m platform

Pos Athlete Pts
1 England Doug Tomalin 108.74
2 Australia Ron Masters 102.87
3 Canada George Athans 98.93
4 Australia Arthur O'Connor 97.39
5 Australia Ray Davis 94.21

110 yd freestyle

Pos Athlete Time
1 Canada Bob Pirie 59.6
2 South Africa Terry Collard 1:00.8
3 Australia William Fleming 1:01.0
4 British Guiana Walter Spence 1:01.2
5 New Zealand Peter Hanan 1:01.?
6 England Frederick Dove 1:01.?
7 Australia J. Robert Wilshire 1:01.6

440 yd freestyle

Pos Athlete Time
1 Canada Bob Pirie 4:54.6
2 England Bob Leivers 4:55.4
3 Australia Robin Biddulph 4:55.5
4 England Norman Wainwright 4:58.0
? Canada Robert Hooper ?
? Canada Gordon Devlin ?
7 Australia Noel Ryan 5:20.4

1650 yd freestyle

Pos Athlete Time
1 England Bob Leivers 19:46.4
2 Canada Bob Pirie 19:59.2
3 England Norman Wainwright 20:17.4
4 Canada Gordon Devlin 20:38.5
5 Australia Robin Biddulph 20:42.2
6 Australia Noel Ryan 21:08.2
7 Canada Robert Hooper ?

110 yd backstroke

Pos Athlete Time
1 Australia Percy Oliver 1:07.9
2 Canada Gordon Kerr 1:09.0
3 England Micky Taylor 1:09.3
4 Canada Jean M. Demers 1:14.2
5 England Mostyn French-Williams ?
6 Scotland Willie Francis ?
7 Wales Graham Huxtable ?

220 yd breaststroke

Pos Athlete Time
1 England John Davies 2:51.9
2 British Guiana Walter Spence 3:00.5
3 Canada Jimmy Prentice 3:00.8
4 Australia Ray Cameron 3:03.3
5 Australia John Johnson 3:03.6
6 Bermuda Percy Belvin 3:03.6
7 Australia Ernest A. Hobbs 3:09.0

4×220 yd freestyle relay

Pos Athlete Time
1 England Frederick Dove, Mostyn Ffrench-Williams, Norman Wainwright, Bob Leivers 9:19.0
2 Canada George Burleigh, Gordon Devlin, Robert Hooper, Bob Pirie 9:20.2
3 Australia Robert Wilshire, Noel Ryan, Robin Biddulph, William Fleming 9:32.9

3×110 yd medley relay

Pos Athlete Time
1 England Frederick Dove, John Davies, Micky Taylor 3:28.2
2 Canada Gordon Kerr, Jimmy Prentice, Bob Pirie 3:30.5
3 Australia Ernest Hobbs, Percy Oliver, William Fleming 3:31.8

Women

3 m springboard

Pos Athlete Pts
1 Australia Irene Donnett 91.18
2 Canada Lynda Adams 88.27
3 Canada Marie Sharkey 81.66
4 Australia Laurie Hawe 75.32
5 Canada Barbara Richards 69.18
6 New Zealand Gwen Rix 65.86
7 Australia Janet Weidenhofer 47.40

10 m platform

Pos Athlete Pts
1 Australia Lurline Hook 36.47
2 Canada Lynda Adams 36.39
3 Australia Irene Donnett 34.57
4 England Jean Gilbert 33.90
5 Australia Pamela Hunt 26.10

110 yd freestyle

Pos Athlete Time
1 Australia Evelyn de Lacy 1:10.1
2 Australia Dorothy Green 1:11.1
3 Canada Dorothy Lyon 1:12.1
4 Canada Phyllis Dewar 1:12.2
5 England Edna Hughes ?
6 South Africa Mollie Ryde ?
7 England Zilpha Grant ?

440 yd freestyle

Pos Athlete Time
1 Australia Dorothy Green 5:39.7
2 England Margaret Jeffery 5:40.2
3 New Zealand Mona Leydon 5:42.0
4 Canada Dorothy Hobson 5:47.0
? Canada Phyllis Dewar ?
6 Australia Mynee Steel 5:51.7
? South Africa Mollie Ryde ?

110 yd backstroke

Pos Athlete Time
1 Australia Pat Norton 1:19.5
2 Wales Jeanne Greenland 1:22.5
3 Scotland Margot Hamilton 1:23.2
4 Canada Noel Oxenbury 1.23.2/10
5 England Zilpha Grant ?
6 Canada Florence Humble ?
7 England Lorna Frampton ?

220 yd breaststroke

Pos Athlete Time
1 England Doris Storey 3:06.3
2 South Africa Carla Gerke 3:12.1
3 Canada Joan Langdon 3:22.2
4 Australia Valerie George 3:23.0
5 Australia Joan Thomas 3:23.6
6 Australia Margaret Dovey 3:32.0
7 New Zealand Winnie Dunn ?

4×110 yd freestyle relay

Pos Athlete Time
1 Canada Noel Oxenbury, Dorothy Lyon, Mary Baggaley, Phyllis Dewar 4:48.3
2 Australia Dorothy Green, Evelyn de Lacy, Margaret Rawson, Pat Norton 4:49.0
3 England Edna Hughes, Joyce Harrowby, Margery Hinton, Zilpha Grant 4:50.1

3×110 yd medley relay

Pos Athlete Time
1 England Doris Storey, Lorna Frampton, Margery Hinton 3:57.7
2 South Africa Carla Gerke,Hazel Holmes, Molly Ryde 4:07.5
3 Australia Evelyn de Lacy, Pat Norton, Valerie George 4:10.0
4 Canada Canada 4:10.1
5 New Zealand Joyce Macdonald, Mona Leydon, Winnie Dunn 4:22.3

References

  1. ^ "Commonwealth Games Medallists - Swimming and Diving (men)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Commonwealth Games Medallists - Swimming and Diving (women)". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  3. ^ "The 1938 Commonwealth Games". Lochista. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Medal Standings 1938". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 27 August 2025.