Tribute to the ultimate sportsman and soldier
Courtesy Department of Defence
Olympians Kaarle McCulloch and Michelle Ford have honoured the memory of Cecil Healy, the only Australian Olympic gold medallist to die in combat.
The pair laid wreaths and flowers on Healy’s grave at a war cemetery in the small French village of Assevillers, an hour north of Paris.
Healy, the who won gold and silver in swimming at the Stockholm 1912 Games, was killed at the Somme in France on 29 August 1918 – just 73 days before the First World War ended.
The Olympians were joined by Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman, Australia’s Ambassador to France, Gillian Bird, and the Mayor of Assevillers, Didier Jacob.
Second Lieutenant Cecil Healy was a member of the 19th (Sportsman’s) Battalion. He and other Australian soldiers had come to liberate the villages of the Somme area when he was killed by machine-gun fire.
His death was keenly felt in the Australian Olympic movement, not only because of his exceptional qualities as a freestyle swimmer, but particularly for the extraordinary act of sportsmanship he displayed at the Stockholm Games.
Healy denied himself a gold medal by insisting the race favourite, Duke Kahanamoku, be allowed to compete in the 100 metres freestyle final despite the American champion missing his semi-final because of an apparent mix-up.
Healy’s stance led to officials holding a special semi-final, which included the American, who went on to win the final, with Healy picking up the silver.
Healy felt that without Kahanamoku in the race, any gold medal would be tarnished.
In 2018, the Australian Olympic Committee announced the Cecil Healy Award for Outstanding Sportsmanship to acknowledge his contribution – awarded for the first time to Cedric Dubler after the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Following the wreath-laying, a further commemoration was held at a statue of the sportsman/soldier, which was unveiled in 2018, marking 100 years since his death.
Mayor Jacob, community members from Assevillers and the Australian party later shared a friendship toast to honour the strong bonds that link France and Australia.
Ms McCulloch presented the Mayor with a book on Healy’s life, Cecil Healy – A Biography, by late gold medallist and champion swimmer John Devitt and author Larry Writer.
