John Davies (swimmer)

John Davies
Davies in 1951
Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
In office
9 June 1986 – 18 July 1998
Appointed byRonald Reagan
Preceded byCynthia Holcomb Hall
Succeeded byJohn F. Walter
Personal details
BornJohn Griffith Davies
(1929-05-17)17 May 1929
Died24 March 2020(2020-03-24) (aged 90)
Citizenship
  • Australia
  • United States
Spouse
Margery M. Follinger
(m. 1952)
Children2
EducationUniversity of Michigan (B.A.)
University of California, Los Angeles (LL.B.)
Occupation
  • Swimmer
  • lawyer
  • judge
Sports career
National team Australia
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight193 lb (88 kg)
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
College teamUniversity of Michigan
Medal record
Representing Australia
Olympic Games
1952 Helsinki 200 m breaststroke
Amateur Athletic Union
1952 Indoor Championships 220 yd breaststroke
1951 Outdoor Championships 200 m breaststroke
1951 Outdoor Championships 100 m breaststroke
1951 Outdoor Championships 300 m Medley Relay
1951 Indoor Championships 220 yd breaststroke
1951 Indoor Championships 100 yd breaststroke
1948 Outdoor Championships 200 m breaststroke
NCAA
1948 Championships 200 yd breaststroke
1952 Championships 200 yd breaststroke
1952 Championships 100 yd breaststroke
Big Ten
1952 Championships 200 yd breaststroke
1951 Championships 200 yd breaststroke
1952 Championships 100 yd breaststroke
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John Griffith Davies (17 May 1929 – 24 March 2020) was an Australian-American swimmer and United States federal judge. As a breaststroke swimmer of the 1940s and 1950s, he won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, set a world record in the 200 yard breaststroke (short course) and tied the world record in the 200 m breaststroke (long course). After retiring from competition swimming, he became a lawyer in California and, after becoming a naturalized American, was appointed a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, and presided over the federal trial of the Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with assaulting Rodney King.