Swimming Australia Head coach Rohan Taylor said “he was a great ambassador and leader to swimming, his influence on the sport was enormous”.
“He always put athletes first and cared for the sport at all levels.
“My condolences to Wendy (his wife), his family and friends.”
Cumberland Mayor Lisa Lake also led a minute silence at the council meeting to honour his life and all that he contributed to the Australian Swimming community.
“He broke 14 world records and won 13 Australian championships, making him one of Australia’s greatest swimmers of all time,” she said.
“He was a true legend of the sport.”
Mr Devitt, who passed away on August 17, aged 86, was born on February 4, 1937, grew up in Granville and was educated at Holy Family Primary School in Granville East and later at Parramatta Marist High School, where he swam competitively for his school team.
He was an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer in the 1950s and 1960s; went on to become an Olympic gold medallist in the 4 x 200m freestyle in 1956 Melbourne Olympics and in the 100 metres freestyle, in what was a controversial final, in Rome in 1960; and was the swimming captain for both the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.
He grew up in Blaxcell Street, just 250 metres from the Granville Olympic pool, where he trained under Tom Penny and first started perfecting his freestyle.
Mayor Lake said Granville Pool was a special place for Mr Devitt – not only was it the place he spent most of his childhood, but it was here he became friends with Paul Hogan (his future brother-in-law), who was working at the pool as a guard.
In 1961 he married Paul’s sister, Wendy and they had four children together, Carmel, Mark, Julie and Sean.
In May 1988, the Granville 50-metre Olympic pool was named the John Devitt Pool.
After his retirement from competition, he continued supporting new swimmers, joining the Australian Swimming Federation and playing a big part in winning the Sydney 2000 Olympics bid.
