Paul Radmilovic

Paolo Francesco Radmilovic (5 March 1886 – 29 September 1968) was a Welsh water polo player and competitive swimmer.

[2] Radmilovic made his debut for the Wales national water polo team at the age of 15 in 1901 and at the time was the youngest international player in the history of the sport.

[6][7] He won his first Amateur Swimming Association title in 1907 when victorious in the open water 5 mile race in the River Thames.

A reporter for the 'Swimming Times' wrote of his 1925 victory: Until last year he had never held the 1 mile championship of England, but at the East India docks he had quite a comfortable win.

[6] In 1908 he won a gold medal as part of the British water polo team that defeated Belgium 9–2 in the final.

Two days later he was drafted into the 4×200 metre relay squad when another swimmer withdrew due to illness and swam the second leg of a dramatic race.

Hungary appeared to be cruising to victory when anchor leg swimmer Zoltán Halmay began to lose consciousness in the water.

[6] Radmilovic moved to Weston-super-Mare in 1904 and all Olympic successes were gained whilst a resident of this Somerset resort and where he was a member of the local swimming and water polo clubs.

He won his third career gold as part of the British water polo team at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.

Great Britain and Belgium had impressed in reaching the final and the game itself was a tight one decided when Radmilovic scored to put the British 3–2 ahead.

Blue Plaque
The blue plaque unveiled by his grandson, Simon Siddall on the wall of The Imperial, South Parade, Weston-super-Mare