Australia and Olympic Swimming

Australia is a swimming superpower with a rich history dating back to Freddy Lane in Paris 1900 as our first Olympic swimmer. In the River Seine, Lane won the 200 metres freestyle and the obstacle race over the same distance. Throughout the years Australian athletes have won a remarkable 52 swimming gold medals.

At Melbourne 1956 Australia became the world’s top swimming nation by winning eight gold medals, including every freestyle event. This was the first gold for Dawn Fraser who went on to win an unprecedented third consecutive 100m freestyle title in Tokyo 1964.

Sydney 2000 saw Australia return to the top echelon of Olympic swimming nations when five gold medals were won. Individual winners were Ian Thorpe (400m freestyle), Grant Hackett (1500m freestyle) and Susie O’Neill (200m freestyle). Relay titles came in the men’s 4 x 200m freestyle with Thorpe, Michael Klim, William Kirby and Todd Pearson and the men’s 4 x 100m freestyle with Thorpe, Klim, Chris Fydler and Ashley Callus.

Athens 2004 saw the return of the Australian women swimmers as a world power, with Jodie Henry winning the 100m freestyle and Petria Thomas the 100m butterfly together with relay wins in the 4 x 100m freestyle (Alice Mills, Libby Lenton, Thomas, Henry) and the 4 x 100m medley (Giaan Rooney, Leisel Jones, Thomas, Henry). In the men, Ian Thorpe won the 200m and 400m freestyle titles to become Australia's greatest Olympic gold medal-winner with five, and Grant Hackett repeated his Sydney win in the 1500m. Overall Australia won 15 swimming medals (7 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze) in Athens.

Olympic History

Swimming has featured on the program of every modern Olympic Games since the first in Athens in 1896. It is considered the centrepiece of the competition in the first week of the Games with athletics doing the same in the second week.

Gold Medal Winners from the Past Three Olympic Games

Click here for a complete document of winners from Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.