George_Larson
George Larson
Canadian swimmer
George Frederick Larson (June 10, 1912 – September 20, 2008) was a Canadian freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics and 1936 Summer Olympics.
At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, he was a member of the Canadian team that finished fourth in the men's 4x200-metre freestyle relay. In the 400-metre freestyle, he was eliminated in the first round.
Four years later at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, he was eliminated in the first round of the 100-metre freestyle contest.
At the 1934 British Empire Games, he was a member of the Canadian team which won the gold medal in the 4×200-yard freestyle relay. He also won a silver medal in the 100-yard freestyle competition and finished fourth in the 440-yard freestyle, and sixth in the 1500-yard freestyle.
After his swimming career concluded, Larson played Canadian football for the Hamilton Tigers and Hamilton Wildcats, the predecessors of the modern-era Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. While later working as a police officer, he earned extra income as a professional wrestler under the pseudonym "Irish Tom Collins" for fifteen years.
Larson was born in Hamilton, Ontario; he died in Hamilton in 2008, aged 96.
