{{Short description|British swimmer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox swimmer | name = Austin Rawlinson<br />{{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE}}}} | image = | image_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels --> | alt = | caption = | fullname = Austin Rawlinson | nicknames = | national_team = Great Britain | club = Garston SC | coach = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1902|11|7|df=y}} | birth_place = West Derby, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|2000|11|25|1902|11|7|df=y}} | death_place = Liverpool, England | height = <!-- {{convert|x.xx|m|ftin|abbr=on}} --> | weight = <!-- {{convert|xx|kg|lb st|abbr=on}} --> }}
'''Austin Rawlinson''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|RM}} (7 November 1902 – 25 November 2000) was one of the first Englishmen to swim the back crawl in competitions, which he has done in ca. 1915.<ref name=ishof/> He won the first British backstroke title (150 yards in 1921), and defended it from 1922 to 1926. Rawlinson finished fifth in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1924 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/47373 |title=Austin Rawlinson |work=Olympedia |access-date=14 November 2021}}</ref> He also competitively played water polo.<ref name=r1/>
A police officer by profession, he spent most of his free time as a swimming coach, referee and administrator. He was the head coach of the British swimming team at the 1958 European Championships, and the team manager at the 1960 Summer Olympics. In the 1961 New Year Honours he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to swimming;<ref>United Kingdom: {{London Gazette |issue=42231 |date=27 December 1960 |pages=8906 |supp=y}}</ref> in 1968 he was appointed as president of Amateur Swimming Association, and in 1994 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.<ref name=ishof2/>
==See also== * List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
==References== <references>
<ref name=r1>{{cite Sports-Reference |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418035457/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ra/austin-rawlinson-1.html |title=Austin Rawlinson |archive-date=2020-04-18 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ra/austin-rawlinson-1.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> <ref name=ishof>{{cite web |url=http://www.ishof.org/henry-taylor-%28gbr%29.html |title=HENRY TAYLOR (GBR) 1969 Honor Swimmer |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=International Swimming Hall of Fame |access-date=22 August 2015 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124064824/http://www.ishof.org/henry-taylor-%28gbr%29.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> <ref name=ishof2>{{cite web |url=http://www.ishof.org/austin-rawlinson-%28gbr%29.html |title=AUSTIN RAWLINSON (GBR) 1994 Honor Pioneer Swimmer/Contributor |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=International Swimming Hall of Fame |access-date=22 August 2015 |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905183411/http://ishof.org/austin-rawlinson-(gbr).html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
</references>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlinson, Austin}} Category:1902 births Category:2000 deaths Category:English swimming coaches Category:English male backstroke swimmers Category:British male backstroke swimmers Category:Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Category:Swimmers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:English male water polo players Category:British male water polo players Category:People from West Derby Category:Swimmers from Liverpool Category:Olympic coaches for Great Britain Category:20th-century English sportsmen