A champion swimmer in New Zealand and Australia, Lindberg arrived in England a month before the start of the swimming events at the 1900 Olympics. He was included in the team chosen by the Royal Life Saving Society to travel to the Games and was granted temporary membership of the Osborne Swimming Club to qualify him to compete in the water polo competition. Lindberg’s participation in Paris was unknown for the best part of a century but research into both French and British sources confirm that he played in all three of the Osborne Club’s games. After returning to New Zealand he became a farmer in South Auckland until his retirement in 1940. He remained interested in physical activity throughout his life, played rugby for Onewhero and Tuakau, and was a life member of the Pukekawa tennis club.
The question of Lindberg’s nationality is potentially a difficult one. He was born in Fiji to Swedish and Irish parents, lived in New Zealand from a young age and, in Paris, represented a British club, Osborne Swimming Club of Manchester.
Great Britain
New Zealand