Mark's Story
Raised in Wollongong, Mark Kerry learned to swim under the guidance of his mother, who operated a swimming school. He also excelled in surf lifesaving before winning four national swimming titles in 1976 and earning Olympic selection aged 16.
At Montreal 1976, Kerry reached both backstroke finals, placing fifth over 200m and seventh over 100m. His greatest Olympic success came at Moscow 1980, where he won bronze in the 200m backstroke and led off Australia’s gold-medal-winning 4x100m medley relay team.
Kerry swam the backstroke leg before Peter Evans, Mark Tonelli and Neil Brooks carried Australia to a memorable victory. After initially retiring, he returned for Los Angeles 1984, finishing fifth in the 100m backstroke and winning another medley relay bronze to complete a three-medal Olympic career.
