Des Renford was born on the 52nd anniversary of the very first Channel swim, achieved in 1875 by
Matthew Webb. He took up marathon swimming only at the age of 39. His Channel crossings included three in 10 days in 1980. In 1977 he broke the record for swimming around
Alcatraz Island by 23 minutes. He was a mentor of
Susie Maroney, and led her on her first Channel crossing when she was 15. In the
Queen's Birthday Honours of 12 June 1976, Renford was appointed a Member of the
Order of the British Empire (MBE). He was a
Papal knight of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre (the letters OHS sometimes appear after his name). He was inducted into the
Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1998. He suffered three heart attacks and a stroke, and had undergone heart surgery. He had a fourth heart attack while swimming on 29 December 1999. He went into a
coma, was admitted to the
Prince of Wales Hospital in
Sydney, and died there the following evening. His wife Patie, whom he married in 1945, and their three sons were at his bedside when he died. The former
Heffron Park Pool was renamed in Des Renford's honour on 1 March 2000 as the
Des Renford Leisure Centre. ==References==