Alfred Swift

Who was Alfred Swift?

Alfred James Swift was a South African Olympic athlete and cyclist.

Swift was born in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on 25 June 1931. He was awarded provincial colours for Natal and then later for Transvaal. He was awarded his springbok colours in 1952 and competed at two Olympic games, 1952 in Helsinki and 1956 in Melbourne. He also captained the South African Team to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

He won a silver and bronze medal at the games. He went to two British Empire & Commonwealth Games, 1954 in Vancouver, Canada, and 1958 in Cardiff, Wales. He won gold at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He was one of only three athletes to win South Africa’s highest honour, the Shield of Jove.

He gave back to his sport by serving and being president of South African Cycling Federation and was one of the creators of the Rapport Tour. Swift died on 13 April 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa.