Australian swimming stars in the Menzies Era included:
Lorraine Crapp (born 1938)
Lorraine Crapp broke 16 individual world records (100m,
300m 400m, 800m, 220uards, 440yards & 880yards) and 7
team world records.
She won three Commonwealth gold medals, one silver and
one bronze medal in 1954 and 1960.
She won two Olympic gold medals (400m & 4x100m relay
in 1956) & two silver medals (400m in 1956 and 4x100m
relay in 1960)
Dawn Fraser (born 1937 in Sydney)
Dawn Fraser was the first woman to swim 100m in under a
minute
setting a record which was unbroken for another 15 years.
In her career she set 40 world records (27 individual)
and won more Olympic medals than any other Australian.
She was the only swimmer to win gold medals in the same
event in three successive Olympic games (100m freestyle
in 1956, 60 & 64)
She also won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics as a
member of the 4x100m relay team and silver medals in the
400m (1956) and the 4x100m relay (1960 & 64).
In 1964, she was banned from competitive swimming for 10
years for mischievously removing a flag from the Japanese
Emperor's palace. In the same year, she was named
Australian of the Year.
Dawn Fraser retired in 1965, becoming a swimming coach
and, later, a member of the New South Wales Parliament.
Lorraine Crapp & Dawn Fraser
Murray RoseMurray Rose (born in England)
Murray Rose broke 9 world records and won four Olympic
gold medals: 400m, 1500m & 4x200m in 1956 and 400m in
1960. He also won a silver (1500m) and a bronze (4x200m
relay) medal in the 1960 Olympics.
He won 4 Commonwealth gold & 2 silver medals in 1962.
Although not included in the 1964 Olympic team, he broke
the world 880yards record during that year.
After retiring, he worked as a sports commentator in
Australia and the United States.
Ilsa Konrads (born 1944 in Riga, Latvia)
Ilsa Konrads broke 12 individual world records, including
800m, 1500m, 880yds & 1650yds freestyle, and six team
world records
Like her brother, John, she suffered badly from nerves in international competition,
winning a Commonwealth gold and a silver medal (1958) and
an Olympic silver medal for the 4x100m relay in 1960
John Konrads (born 1942 in Riga, Latvia)
Between 1958 and 1961, Jon Konrads broke 26 individual
world records, including every world freestyle record
from 200m to 1500m & 220yds to 1650yds, and six team
world records.
Like his sister, Ilsa, severe nerves prevented him performing at his best in
international competition.
He won three Commonwealth gold medals.
He won the 1500m Olympic gold and 400m & 4x200m
bronze medals in 1960.
Shane GouldShane Gould (born 1956 in Brisbane)
In 1972, Shane Gould won every Australian freestyle championship, broke
every Australian freestyle record and broke the world freestyle record in
every distance.
In the 1972 Olympics, she won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal
and broke three world records.
In 1974, at the age of seventeen and regarded as the greatest female
swimmer the world have ever seen, she retired from swimming to devote her
life to motherhood and social welfare work.
In 2004, aged 47, Shane returned to competitive swimming and qualified to
compete in the 50m butterfly at the Olympic trials.
