Who was John Devitt? Australian Olympic swimming gold medallist dies aged 86

John Devitt, who represented Australia in swimming and won gold medals in the Olympics in 1956 in Melbourne and in 1960 in Rome, has passed away.

At the Olympics in Rome, Devitt won the 100-meter freestyle event for his lone individual gold medal. At the Melbourne Games four years prior, he competed in the 4-x-200 Australian freestyle relay team that won a gold medal.

He also took home bronze with the Australian 4-x-200 relay team in Rome and silver in the 100 freestyle in Melbourne.

At the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, Devitt also took home three gold medals.

Later, he worked as an executive for the Australian Olympic Committee, where he contributed to Sydney’s success in securing the bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Who was John Devitt? Australian Olympic swimming gold medallist dies aged 86

Great swimmer John Devitt’s career was partially marred by the controversy surrounding his victory in the 100-meter freestyle event at the 1960 Olympics. American Jeff Farrell was the pre-Games favorite to win the 100 m freestyle gold at Roma, but after undergoing an emergency appendectomy just six days before the US Olympic Trials, he was only able to compete in the relay, making Devitt the favorite to win the event.