John Brockway

Who was John Brockway?

William John Brockway was a former British swimmer and captain of the British swimming team at the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games. He was born in Bristol and died in Newport.

Brockway made his Olympic début at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, United Kingdom. He reached the final of the men's 100 m backstroke finishing 7th in a time of 1:09.2. He swam the same event at the 1952 Games in Helsinki and 1956 Games in Melbourne, however was unable to progress to the final.

Competing for Wales at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand, he won the silver medal in the men's 110 yards backstroke in 1:08.0. He then went on to win the gold medal in the same event at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada swimming a time of 1:06.5. In the 1958 edition of the Games in Cardiff, Wales, he finished 6th in the 110 yards backstroke, and 6th in the 4×110 yards medley relay alongside B.F. Newman, J.E. Beaven and R. Evans.

Following his swimming career, Brockway became an engineer at steelworks in the Newport area of South Wales.