Graham Symonds
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| Born | 21 March 1936 Coventry, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 June 2006 (aged 70) Essex, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Coventry SC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Graham Henry Symonds (21 March 1937 – 2 June 2006) was an English swimmer who competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
Biography
[edit]Symonds was born in Coventry and studied at the Coventry Art School. He was first coached by his father Sid Symonds, a semi-professional football player. [citation needed]
At the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Symonds represented Great Britain in the 200 metres butterfly event but did not reach the finals.[1] He did however win a bronze medal in the 200 metres butterfly at the 1958 European Aquatics Championships.[2]
In May 1958 he took part in the Empire Games trials in Blackpool[3] and subsequently represented the English team[4] at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales. He competed in the 220 yards butterfly, event, winning a silver medal and helped England claim the bronze medal in the final of the men's 4 x 110 yards medley relay, with Graham Sykes, Christopher Walkden and Neil McKechnie.[5][6]
He won the 1954 ASA National Championship 440 yards freestyle title[7] and the 220 yards butterfly title in 1955.[8]
After retiring from swimming he worked at the technical publications department of the Armstrong Siddeley's aircraft division.[citation needed] He then designed tractors at Massey Ferguson, worked for Chrysler Rootes, and in 1967 joined Ford.[citation needed] In the 1980s–90s he worked in Dearborn, Michigan, US, designing medium and large trucks, such as Ford Transit.[citation needed] During that time he also competed in masters swimming. He returned to UK in 1998 to assume the post of assistant director of design of small and medium Ford vehicles at Dunton Wayletts, Essex. He retired in 2002 and died in 2006 in Essex, leaving wife Ina and children Heather, Brett and Andrea and brother Robert Bruce Symonds.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Graham Symonds Archived 2012-12-16 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
- ^ Graham SYMONDS. les-sports.info
- ^ "Sykes and Symonds chosen for trials". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 28 May 1958. p. 11. Retrieved 16 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Wales Cardiff 1958". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- ^ "1958 Athletes". Team England.
- ^ ""Brockway Wins 110 Yards Back-Stroke Again." Times, 15 Sept. 1954, p. 3". Times Digital Archive.
- ^ ""British Swimming Best Since War." Times, 5 Sept. 1955, p. 13". Times Digital Archive.
- 1937 births
- 2006 deaths
- Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- Olympic swimmers for Great Britain
- English male butterfly swimmers
- British male butterfly swimmers
- Sportspeople from Coventry
- European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming
- Swimmers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
- 20th-century English sportsmen