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Bob Pirie

Personal information
Full name	Robert Charles Pirie
Nickname	"Bob"
National team	Canada
Born	(1916-04-30)April 30, 1916 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	January 22, 1984(1984-01-22) (aged 67) Los Angeles, California, United States
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Medal record Representing Canada British Empire Games 1934 London 4×200 yd freestyle 1938 Sydney 110 yd freestyle 1938 Sydney 440 yd freestyle 1934 London 1500 yd freestyle 1938 Sydney 1650 yd freestyle 1938 Sydney 4×220 yd freestyle 1938 Sydney 3×110 yd medley 1934 London 440 yd freestyle

Robert Charles Pirie (April 30, 1916 – January 22, 1984) was a Canadian freestyle swimmer who competed internationally in the 1930s.

Background

Pirie was unanimously selected as the Lou Marsh Trophy winner for 1939, recognizing Canada's top athlete. That year, in Hawaii, he broke the 220-yard world record long held by Johnny Weissmuller and finished third in the U.S. national championships in the 110-yard and 220-yard freestyle races, with Japanese swimmers taking the top two spots in both races. At the time, he held every Canadian freestyle swimming record from 100 metres to two miles.

Earlier, Pirie won silver and bronze in freestyle events at the 1934 British Empire Games. His sister, Irene Pirie, also won individual silver and bronze freestyle medals at the same games. Four years later, at the 1938 British Empire Games, Pirie won gold in the 110-yard freestyle and the 440-yard freestyle events, and silver in the 1650-yard freestyle race. Pirie attended and participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In the 400-metre freestyle and 1500-metre freestyle, he was eliminated in the semi-finals. He was also a member of the Canadian relay team which finished seventh in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.

Pirie was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1975. The Bob Pirie Trophy is presented each year by Swim Ontario to the top male swimmer in Ontario as selected by the Ontario Swimming Coaches' Association. The female swimmer of the year receives the Irene Pirie Trophy. Pirie was posthumously inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

See also

• List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bob Pirie". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
2. "Robert Pirie". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.

• 1916 births
• 1984 deaths
• Canadian male freestyle swimmers
• Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada
• Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada
• Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada
• Northern Star Award winners
• Olympic swimmers for Canada
• Swimmers from Toronto
• Swimmers at the 1934 British Empire Games
• Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Swimmers at the 1938 British Empire Games
• Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
• Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games
• Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games
• 20th-century Canadian sportsmen