Charles Sydney Smith
Encyclopedia
Charles Sydney Smith (26 January 1876 – 6 April 1951) was born in Wigan
, the ninth of eleven children born to Thomas Smith and Elizabeth née Sayer. He was a British
water polo
player who competed as goalkeeper for the England Water Polo team which won gold medals in the London games of 1908
, and the Stockholm games of 1912
. After the Great War
he returned, at the age of 41, as part of the Great Britain team to win a third Gold Medal at the Antwerp games
in 1920. He was still in the team four years later competing in the Paris games
of 1924 where the team was knocked out in the first round by the Hungarian
team after extra time.
Smith was chosen to represent the country as the flag bearer at the 1912 Summer Olympics
in Stockholm
, Sweden
. This made him the first competing athlete to carry the flag for Great Britain.
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, the ninth of eleven children born to Thomas Smith and Elizabeth née Sayer. He was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
player who competed as goalkeeper for the England Water Polo team which won gold medals in the London games of 1908
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
, and the Stockholm games of 1912
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
. After the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he returned, at the age of 41, as part of the Great Britain team to win a third Gold Medal at the Antwerp games
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
in 1920. He was still in the team four years later competing in the Paris games
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
of 1924 where the team was knocked out in the first round by the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
team after extra time.
Smith was chosen to represent the country as the flag bearer at the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. This made him the first competing athlete to carry the flag for Great Britain.
External links
- Charles Sydney Smith's Olympic medal statistics at DatabaseOlympics.com