Full name Jack Irwin Hale Sport Swimming Died February 29, 2008 Weight 128 lb (58 kg) Role Swimmer | Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Name Jack Hale National team Great Britain Strokes Freestyle | |
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Born 8 June 1922 ( 1922-06-08 ) Kingston upon Hull, England | ||
Jack Irwin Hale (8 June 1922 – 29 February 2008) was an English competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympic Games and England in the British Empire Games.
When London hosted the 1948 Summer Olympics, he competed in three events. His best finish was seventh in the event final of the men's 400-metre freestyle. He also swam in the preliminary heats of the 1,500-metre freestyle and the 4x200-metre freestyle relay, but did not advance in either event.
At the 1950 British Empire Games held in Auckland, New Zealand, Hale won a gold medal as a member of the England's winning team in the men's 3x100-yard medley relay, together with Pat Kendall and Roy Romain. He also received a bronze medal with the third-place English team of Donald Bland, Pat Kendall and Ray Legg in the men's 4x220-yard freestyle relay. Individually, he also competed in the preliminary heats of the 440-yard freestyle event.
Hale missed the 1952 Summer Olympics, following an accident in which he suffered broken ribs when a diver landed on top of him. Afterward he retired from competitive swimming, and became a swimming instructor and coach in his hometown of Kingston upon Hull, working for nearly 40 years with his wife Valerie, teaching local children to swim. He died in Hull in 2008.