Cecil Healy : A Biography

The Epic Tale of Australia's Only Olympic Gold Medallist to Die at War

By: John Devitt, Larry Writer

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Hardcover | 31 July 2018

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When John Devitt won Olympic 100-metre freestyle gold in 1960, his inspiration was Healy. He always wanted to write his hero's biography. Now, on the centenary of Healy's death, Devitt has joined with Larry Writer to produce an extraordinary tale of a man who was born to swim, earned sporting immortality but then sacrificed all. The book recalls Australia's first great era of swimming, our early Olympic achievements and the rise of the surf lifesaving movement. Healy helped organise the visit of Duke Kahanamoku to Australia in the summer of 1914-15, an adventure that inspired generations of board riders.

Three years earlier, at the Stockholm Olympics, he refused to race in the 100 metres final unless the Duke, the race favourite, was also allowed to swim. The great Hawaiian had missed his semi-final, after a misunderstanding over the starting time. Cecil later won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay, but it was his altruism that earned him a place in sport's highest pantheon. When John Devitt adopted his sporting hero, he could not have chosen a finer man.

About the Authors

John Devitt AM is one of Australian sport's all-time greats, winner of four Olympic medals, including two golds. He held the 100m freestyle world record for four years, and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Larry Writer is the author of several best-selling books on sport, history and crime, including Never Before, Never Again, described as 'the finest study of sporting success ever published in Australia', Razor, which won the Ned Kelly Award for best non-fiction crime book, and Dangerous Games: Australia at the 1936 Nazi Olympics, which was short-listed for the Australian Sports Book of the Year.

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