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Neil Brooks (born July 27, 1962) is a former Australian sprint freestyle swimmer best known for winning the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow as part of the Quietly Confident Quartet. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A style is known as a stroke or "crawl" "Stroke" can also refer to a single completion of the sequence of body movements repeated while swimming in the given style The University of Arkansas, often shortened to U of A or just UA, is a public Co-educational Land-grant university Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England, the largest town in the borough of Crewe and Nantwich, in which it is the only Unparished area. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through Water, usually without artificial assistance The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Swimming at the 1980 Summer Olympics as usual was a part of the Swimming Sport, other two parts were Water Polo and Diving The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, Swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics, held at the McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium, located on the USC campus The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, Swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics, held at the McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium, located on the USC campus The Commonwealth Games is a multinational Multi-sport event. Held every four years it involves the elite athletes of the Commonwealth of Nations. The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September&mdash9 October 1982 The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September&mdash9 October 1982 The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September&mdash9 October 1982 The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Freestyle is an unregulated Swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The Quietly Confident Quartet was the self-given name of the Australian men's 4 × 100 m medley relay swimming team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Brooks was as much known for his swimming as he was for disciplinary issues. He often found himself in conflict with swimming officials and threatened with suspensions. His international career ended after his being suspended for drinking 46 cans of beer on a return flight to Australia after the 1986 Commonwealth Games. The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time
Born in Crewe, England, Brooks immigrated to Australia as a toddler and started swimming lessons after nearly drowning in a childhood accident. Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England, the largest town in the borough of Crewe and Nantwich, in which it is the only Unparished area. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland He quickly rose through the youth ranks after initially being noted for his unstylish swimming style. Brooks made his debut at the Australian Championships in 1976 aged just 13, but it was not until 1979 that he began winning medals at national level and made his international debut for Australia at a FINA World Cup meet. In 1980, he gained prominence by breaking the Australian 100 m freestyle record and being invited to a national team camp. There he had his first clash with officialdom, walking out of the camp after accusing the officials of neglecting him. He then qualified for the Australian team for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, defying political pressure to boycott the Games in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, also known as the Soviet-Afghan War or just the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, was a nine-year conflict involving Brooks' experience in the individual 100 m freestyle at the Olympics was an unpleasant one, suffering an asthma attack and failing to qualify for the final. The peak of his swimming career came in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, where he caught and overtook the Soviet Union's Sergei Kopliakov in the anchor leg to seal a narrow victory for Australia, the only time that the United States did not win the event at Olympic level. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Sergey Viktorovich Koplyakov (Сергей Викторович Копляков born January 23 1959 in Orsha) is a former Soviet male swimmer The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Following the Olympics, Brooks was expelled from the Australian Institute of Sport by Don Talbot due to disciplinary issues and he accepted a scholarship to swim for the University of Arkansas, where he enjoyed the more liberal disciplinary standards. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS leads the development of elite sport and is widely acknowledged in Australia and internationally as a world best practice model for elite athlete Don Talbot OBE is a former Canadian and Australian Swimming coach. The University of Arkansas, often shortened to U of A or just UA, is a public Co-educational Land-grant university He returned to Australia for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and during a preparatory training camp, he again raised the ire of officials. The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September&mdash9 October 1982 Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland After lobbying for improved accommodation conditions, Brooks was involved in a physical altercation with a team official, and was given a suspension that was to take effect after the competition ended. However, a protest from his teammates resulted in the ban being scrapped. After the turbulence out of the pool, Brooks had a successful meet, winning the 100 m freestyle and anchoring the 4 × 100 m freestyle and medley relays to gold medals. Brooks competed at his second Olympics at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, where he won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and bronze for swimming the heats of the medley relay. The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Brooks' international career ended at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, where he won silver in the 100 m freestyle and was a member of freestyle relay team that won gold. The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Brooks retired after being suspended for his antics during the return trip. He later became a swimming commentator on television but was sacked in 1998 after a disciplinary incident.
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Early years
Brooks was an only child, born in Crewe, England, migrating to Australia when he was four, along with his working-class parents Mick and Norah. Crewe is a town in Cheshire, England, the largest town in the borough of Crewe and Nantwich, in which it is the only Unparished area. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland [1] His first aquatic adventure was almost his last. Aged seven, he was playing with a friend on the shore of the Swan River, when they climbed into a boat which drifted deeper into water and overturned. The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Brooks was forced to cling to the boat as his friend swam ashore to seek help. His parents immediately enrolled him in swimming lessons with Fred de Lacy at the Marylands Swim Club. Shortly after, he switched to the tutelage of Kevin Duff, who was to remain his coach for the next fifteen years. Brooks came third at the State Age Championships in the 50 m breaststroke just six weeks later. Duff had also coached Olympic medallists Kevin O'Halloran, Lyn McClements, David Dickson and Lynne Watson. Kevin O'Halloran (3 March 1937 &ndash 5 July 1976 was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s who won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m Lynnette Velma (Lyn McClements (born 11 May 1951 in Nedlands Western Australia) was an Australian butterfly swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s who won a gold medal in the David Dickson may refer to David Dickson (footballer, Australian rules footballer at Carlton David Dickson (politician, Lieutenant Lynne Watson (born November 22 1952) known after marriage as Lynne Bates was an Australian backstroke swimmer of the 1960s who won a Although Duff had nurtured many Olympic medallists from Western Australia, he remained virtually unknown at a national level. Brooks, known for his rebellious nature, had a glowing assessment of his coach, opining that "He's not pushy like many other Australian coaches and he's not in the politics of Australian swimming. "[1]
Brooks attended Hale Primary School and trained before and after school at Beatty Park Pool, and he routinely dominated State age group championships. In 1974 at the National Age championships, Brooks came third in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke, and second in the 200 m freestyle. Brooks was known during his primary school years as "Basher Brooks" due to his lack of style, but by the end of primary school, his stroke had become more technically correct. Nevertheless, he was always confident in his mental ability, stating "before I just swam on guts, now I had the stroke as well as the guts. I was always the toughest kid in the race. "[1]
At the age of 13, Brooks suffered a loss of confidence when he found that despite being champion in all four strokes for the previous four years, he was frequently being beaten. The other kids had grown more at the start of their adolescence and he was struggling to keep up. Within a year, Brooks' physical growth began to catch up to that of his peers and he started to regain the dominant position. He also switched from distance to sprint events. [1]
National debut
In 1976, Brooks competed in his first open Australian Championships, still yet to reach his 14th birthday, but did not gain any podium finishes and as such was not selected in the team for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec In the same year, the Australian team came to Perth for its pre-Olympic training camp and were billeted in the private homes of the city's swimming community. Brooks' family took his future relay team-mate Mark Tonelli, who had a reputation for being wild. Marcus Lyndon Tonelli (born Marcus Lyndon Leembruggen on 13 April 1957 in Ipswich Queensland) was an Australian Backstroke, butterfly Brooks however, found Tonelli to be an inspiration and cited him as being a motivating factor in wanting to become an Olympian. [1]
During the 1976–77 season, Brooks came to prominence as a possible Australian representative as a sprinter. At the 1977 Western Australian State Championships, he broke six records in winning two events. He swam the 100 m freestyle in 56. 56 s, breaking the state records for 14, 15, and 16 year-olds, before repeating the achievement in the 200 m backstroke. Still aged 14, he competed at his second Australian Championships and came fourth in the 100 m freestyle. In 1978, he came third and missed selection for the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada by 0. The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton Alberta, Canada from 3 August-12 1978 Edmonton (ˈɛdmɨntɨn is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page 03 s. He spent the rest of the year training and studying accounting at Leederville Technical College. Brooks held the Australian age group record in the 200 m individual medley, the 200 m backstroke and the 100 m freestyle. In the inaugural Australian Short Course Championships in Launceston in 1979, Brooks won a silver medal in the 200 m individual medley and a bronze in the 100 m freestyle. Launceston ( (short first vowel /ˈlɔːnsəstən/ is often incorrectly heard in other parts of Australia is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia His performances earned him selection in the Australian team for the first time, competing in the FINA World Cup event in Tokyo in April 1979, aged 16 years and nine months. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. [1]
Aged 17, Brooks swam 51. 91 s in Perth in January 1980, breaking the Australian record in the 100 m freestyle held by Tonelli. As a result, he was invited to his first national training camp under Bill Sweetenham for prospective Olympic swimmers. Bill Sweetenham is a competitive swimming coach Career Sweetenham was the National Performance Director for British swimming from November 2000 to September and had the first of his many clashes with sporting administrators, first claiming that the officials did not want him to board with Tonelli and then stating that Sweetenham had only coached him two or three times, which he felt was insufficient for the Australian Championships. Brooks walked out of the camp to returned to Perth to train under Duff. At the Australian Championships, the 100 m was seen as a clash between Tonelli and Brooks. He came second in the 100 m freestyle, failing to outsprint Tonelli in the dying stages. As a result, Brooks and was selected in both the individual event and the 4 × 100 m medley relay. [2]
However, another obstacle arose with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which resulted in a boycott of the Games by a large part of the Western World, led by the United States. The Soviet war in Afghanistan, also known as the Soviet-Afghan War or just the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, was a nine-year conflict involving The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was also the patron of the Australian Olympic Committee, and significant political pressure came to bear on the athletes to boycott the Games. The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. John Malcolm Fraser, AC, CH (born 21 May 1930 is an Australian Liberal politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement Tonelli however, realised that only the sportspeople would suffer from a boycott and that trade relations would continue unabated. Tonelli took a leadership role among the athletes to fight for their right to compete. [3][4][5]
Moscow Olympics
- See also: Swimming at the 1980 Summer Olympics
In the individual event, Brooks had come equal first in his heat in a time of 52. Swimming at the 1980 Summer Olympics as usual was a part of the Swimming Sport, other two parts were Water Polo and Diving 11 s, but he suffered a severe asthma attack and had to be hospitalised. He swam the semi-final regardless, despite having a heart-rate before the start of race of 120, compared to his usual 72. He managed to finish seventh in a time of 52. 70 s, which was not enough to see him progress to the final. [2][6]
Relay victory
The 4 × 100 m medley relay was the focal point of Brooks' Moscow campaign and it came only two days before his 18th birthday. The Quietly Confident Quartet was the self-given name of the Australian men's 4 × 100 m medley relay swimming team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer The event had always been won by the United States since its inception at the Olympics at the 1960 Games, and their boycott had opened up the field in the event. The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an International Multi-sport event held in Rome, Italy In the five times the event had been contested, Australia's best result had come in the inaugural race, where it out-touched Japan to claim silver. The only other time that it won a medal was in 1964, with a bronze. The previous outing in 1976 had seen Australia eliminated in the heats. Australia was regarded as a chance of a medal, but were not seen as the main threats, with Sweden, Great Britain and the Soviet Union being the most heavily fancied teams. The Soviet Union boasted the silver medallists in the 100 m backstroke and breaststroke, and their butterflyer and freestyler had come fifth and fourth respectively. The British boasted Duncan Goodhew, the breaststroke gold medallist, while Sweden's butterflyer and backstroker had won their respective events and their freestyle swimmer had come second in the 100 m. Duncan Alexander Goodhew MBE (born May 27, 1957) is one of the most instantly recognisable UK Swimming athletes [7] Australia's team paled in comparison on paper. Peter Evans was the only individual medallist in the distance,[4] claiming bronze in the 100 m breaststroke. Peter Maxwell Evans (born 1 August 1961 is a former Australian Breaststroke swimmer of the 1980s who won four Olympic medals most notably a gold in the 4 × 100 m Kerry had been eliminated in the backstroke semifinals, while Tonelli was swimming as a makeshift butterflyer,[8] despite having performed better than Kerry in the 100 m backstroke. [9][5] Adding to the pressure was the fact that Australia won no gold medals at the 1976 Olympics in any sport, so the public were still awaiting their first gold since the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Munich, in what was Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. [10]
Australia's prospects improved after the morning heats when Sweden was disqualified. Tonelli, the eldest swimmer in the quartet at the age of 23, convened the team as its de facto leader. He asked his team-mates to commit to swimming their legs in a certain time; Kerry vowed to swim the backstroked in 57 s, Evans the breaststroke in 63 s flat, Tonelli the butterfly in 54 s and Brooks promised to anchor the team in 49. 8 s, even though he had never gone faster than 51 s in his career. Tonelli named the foursome as the Quietly Confident Quartet, and they exhibited a quiet confidence as they lined up for the race. [8][5]
Kerry led off in a faster time than he had clocked in the individual event, but it was still two seconds slower than his personal best time of 57. 87 s, leaving Australia in fourth place at the end of the first leg. Evans then swam a personal best of 63. 01 s, leaving Australia almost level with the host nation at the halfway mark. Tonelli then swam his leg in 54. 94 s, almost two seconds faster than he had done over the distance,[8]. He did so with an uneven arm technique due to the uneven strength in his arms. [11] He began to lose ground in the last 50 m and was a bodylength behind until a late surge brought him to within a metre by the end of his leg. Brooks then made a powerful, well-timed dive and surfaced almost even with his Soviet counterpart. At the turn, he had drawn level and made a superior turn to take the lead. The Soviet freestyler Kopliakov pulled level at the 25 m mark before Brooks sprinted away again to seal an Australian victory by 0. 22 s. [8] He did not breathe in the last ten metres, and claimed to be laughing for the final five metres, confident that his opponent could not pass him. [2]Brooks had finished his leg in 49. 86 s as he had vowed to his team mates. [6] The time of 3 m 45. 70 s sealed Australia's first ever win in a medley relay at the Olympics, for men or women. [8][12][5]
Brooks dedicated his win to his mother, who had died from cancer the previous Christmas, but he later felt that his gold had diminished his future hunger for further success. [2] Upon returning to Australia, Brooks was greeted as a hero, but he considered retiring as he found it difficult to raise his motivation after his success. [2]
US college career
Brooks suffered from a lack of motivation after the Olympics, and was expelled from the Australian Institute of Sport by Don Talbot for ill discipline. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS leads the development of elite sport and is widely acknowledged in Australia and internationally as a world best practice model for elite athlete Don Talbot OBE is a former Canadian and Australian Swimming coach. He then won the 1981 Australian title in the 100 m freestyle in a time of 52. 61 s without training, and then accepted a scholarship to go to the University of Arkansas to train under Sam Freas. The University of Arkansas, often shortened to U of A or just UA, is a public Co-educational Land-grant university Brooks enjoyed the culture in the American collegiate system, particularly the relationship between swimmers and their coaches. He enjoyed the more equal relationship accorded to swimmers by their coaches, noting that "In Australia, after a race they want to lock you in your room. In America, you can share a beer after the meet with the coach. "[2] The shortcourse pools used in the United States played into the hands of Brooks, as his strong legs were an advantage in pushing away from the turns during turns, which came twice as often compared to longcourse pools. Brooks had initially planned only to stay in the United States for a year, but decided to extend his stay by a year, having enjoyed the high frequency of racing and the recognition accorded to university athletes in the United States. In the two years, he was twice champion in both the 50 m and 100 m freestyle, and was fourth in the 100 m freestyle at the 1981 NCAA Championships in Milwaukee. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations He also came second to Rowdy Gaines in the 100 m freestyle at the AACC Championships. Ambrose ("Rowdy" Gaines IV (born February 17, 1959 in Winter Haven, Florida) is a former American swimmer U [2]
Despite his successes in America, the Australian Swimming Union did not offer to pay for Brooks to return to Australia for the 1982 National Championships, but the University of Arkansas offered to pay for his return to Australia in recognition of his service in collegiate competition. Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive Swimming in Australia. Brooks successfully qualified for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September&mdash9 October 1982 Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland The team then went into a five-week training camp in Sydney, in the seaside suburb of South Coogee. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 South Coogee is a coastal Suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The team accommodation was a migrant hostel, which at the time was primarily occupied by Vietnamese refugees from the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia In the meantime, the British team were training on the French Riviera and the Canadians in Hawaii. The French Riviera (Côte d'Azur Occitan: Còsta Azzura) is one of the most famous resort areas in the world extending along the Mediterranean Sea west The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the Brooks spoke out against the accommodation, causing the officials to make improvements. [2]
Brief suspension for disciplinary reasons and 1982 Commonwealth Games
The campaigning that Brooks did against the accommodation was overshadowed by a much publicised physical confrontation with a team official. Brooks telephoned his coaching officials in the United States to make return travel arrangements for the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games. Due to the time zone difference, he had to make his call after the team curfew, leading to a team manager Jeff Hare attempting to disconnect the call. After being threatened with expulsion from the team during the verbal dispute, Brooks lost his temper and pinned Hare against the wall. Brooks was summoned to a meeting with ASU officials the following day, remaining unrepentant. He received as one month ban, effective after the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games. [2] Brooks demanded that if the ASU were to suspend him at all, they should suspend him immediately for the Commonwealth Games. Brooks' complaints about the training conditions at South Coogee had gained the attention of his team-mates, and several senior swimmers threatened to leave if Brooks was banned. In the end, the ASU dropped their suspension of Brooks. [13] Brooks has remained strongly critical of the attitude of swimming bureaucracy, claiming that "too many officials expect unquestioning obedience", [13] calling for the formation of a swimmers' committee. [13]
Arriving in Brisbane for the Commonwealth Games, Brooks and some of his fellow sprinters shaved their heads, something that received wide coverage among the Australian public. Brooks won his heat of the 100 m freestyle in a Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games record of 51. 09 s. He was unable to swim as fast in the final, but his time of 51. 14 s was enough to secure the gold medal in a close contest. Just 0. 43 s separated him and the bronze and silver medallists Greg Fasala and Michael Delany, both of Australia. Greg Fasala (born 10 May 1965 was an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1980s who won a silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Michael Delany (born 22 August 1965 was an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1980s who won a silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 1984 Los [13]
Brooks then won gold as part of the winning 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, anchoring the team of Fasala, Delany and Graeme Brewer to a victory by almost three seconds in an anchor leg of 50. Graeme Brewer (born December 1, 1958) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the late 1970s and early 1980s who won a bronze medal in the 200 m freestyle 56 s. The shaven-headed quartet was dubbed the Mean Machine. He collected another gold in the medley relay, combining with David Orbell, Evans and Jon Sieben, this time completing his freestyle anchor leg in 50. Jonathan ("Jon" Scott Sieben (born 24 August 1966 is an Australian former butterfly swimmer active in the 1980s who won gold in the 200 m butterfly at the 1984 Los 44 s. After the Games, Brooks returned to complete the American college season before returning to Australia. He was named as Western Australia's Sportsman of the Year. [13]
Second Olympics
Brooks came into the 1984 Australian Championships as the favourite, but this time he was on the receiving end of a close result. Brooks placed third in the 100 m freestyle behind Mark Stockwell and Delany, missing individual selection by 0. Mark Stockwell (born 5 July 1963 is a former Australian sprint freestyle swimmer Stockwell won three medals in freestyle swimming at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics 05 s. He was selected as a relay swimmer only, and went to Los Angeles hoping to win the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. The Australian team of Brooks, Fasala, Delany and Stockwell showed their intent of beating the Americans for the first time in the Olympic history of the event, setting a new Olympic record of 3 m 19. 4 s in the heat. Brooks led off in the heat, setting a time of 50. 3 s. However, in the final, Australian coach Terry Buck switched the swimming order, putting Fasala into the first leg. Fasala's time of 51. 1 s put the Australians in the wash of the Americans, and despite making up ground in the final three legs, the Americans won in a new world record time of 3 m 19. 03 s. Australia were 0. 65 s behind, slower than their time in the heats. [6] Brooks remained adamant that either he or Stockwell should have led off, stating that "the gold was there for the taking". [13][14]
He also collected a bronze in the medley relay after swimming the freestyle leg in the heats before being replaced by first choice Stockwell in the final. [13] Stockwell combined with Kerry, Evans and Glenn Buchanan to finish behind the United States and Canada in the final. Glenn Buchanan (born November 19 1962) was an Australian butterfly swimmer of the 1980s from Townsville, who won two bronze medals in [15][14]
In 1985, Brooks dead heated with Stockwell in the 100 m freestyle at the Australian Championships, finishing in 51. 12 s. He then combined with Tom Stachewicz, Paul Lee and Barry Armstrong as Western Australia won the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay for the first time ever. Paul Lee may refer to Paul Lee (artist Paul Lee (speedway rider Barry Armstrong (born 22 September 1950 is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the VFL during the 1970s [16] Brooks maintained his form and was selected at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, where he came second in the 100 m freestyle to Fasala in a time of 51. The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. 12 s and claimed gold in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay along with Fasala, Stockwell and Matthew Renshaw. [17][6] On the return flight, he consumed 46 cans of beer and was subsequently banned for six months after he talked about the incident during a television interview. [16]
After swimming
He retired thereafter, moving to Nambour, Queensland and started a rock band called The Union. Nambour is a town situated in south east Queensland, Australia, 101 kilometres north of the state capital Brisbane. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent Brooks played the electric guitar, and also wrote his own music and songs. He also played for Western Australia in water polo and indoor cricket and played Australian Rules Football at district level. Water polo is a team water sport A team consists of six field players and one Goalkeeper. Indoor cricket is a variant of Cricket. The game is most often played between two teams each consisting of eight players in matches featuring two sixteen 8 ball over innings Australian (rules football, or simply known as football, footy or Aussie rules, is a Team sport played between two teams of 18 players [16] He stood 200cm and weighed 95kg. [16]
He later became a swimming commentator for the Seven Network during the 1990s, but was sacked in 1998 after an indiscretion, denying him the opportunity to call the 2000 Summer Olympics on home soil in Sydney. The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. "I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Howell, p. 244.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Howell, p. 245.
- ^ Howell, p. 239.
- ^ a b Andrews, p. 148.
- ^ a b c d Gordon, p. 334.
- ^ a b c d Andrews, p. 63.
- ^ Howell, p. 233.
- ^ a b c d e Howell, p. 234.
- ^ Howell, p. 237.
- ^ Gordon, p. 333.
- ^ Howell, p. 242.
- ^ Andrews, pp. 440–441.
- ^ a b c d e f g Howell, p. 246.
- ^ a b Gordon, p. 356.
- ^ Howell, p. 243.
- ^ a b c d Howell, p. 247.
- ^ Andrews, pp. 287–288.
References
- Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster. ISBN 0-7333-0884-8.
- Gordon, Harry (1994). Australia and the Olympic Games. University of Queensland. The University of Queensland (UQ is one of Australia's premier learning and research institutions ISBN 0-7022-2627-0.
- Howell, Max (1986). Aussie Gold. Brooks Waterloo. ISBN 0-86440-680-0.
- Talbot, Don; Ian Heads, Kevin Berry (2003). Don Talbot OBE is a former Canadian and Australian Swimming coach. Kevin John Berry OAM (10 April 1945 &ndash 7 December 2006 was an Australian butterfly swimmer of the 1960s who won the gold medal in the 200 m Talbot: Nothing But the Best. Lothian. ISBN 0-7344-0512-X.
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