Shane Gould
| Olympic medalist | ||
 Shane Gould |
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| Medal record | ||
| Women’s swimming | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Australia |
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| Gold | 1972 Munich | 200 m freestyle |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 400 m freestyle |
| Gold | 1972 Munich | 200 m individual medley |
| Silver | 1972 Munich | 800 m freestyle |
| Bronze | 1972 Munich | 100 m freestyle |
Shane Elizabeth Gould, MBE (born 23 November 1956) is an Australian former swimmer who won three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics.
Background
Shane Gould was born in Sydney, Australia, on the first day of competition of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. She moved to Fiji with her family at the age of 18 months. By the age of six, she was a competent swimmer. She attended primary school at St. Peters Lutheran College, Brisbane, where a sporting house is named after her, and secondary school at Turramurra High School, Sydney where a sporting house is also named after her and fellow Olympian Gail Neall. She was trained by leading coaches Forbes and Ursula Carlile and their assistant Tom Green, and won all her world swimming titles when a teenager, travelling widely.
Gould spent most of the years after ending competitive swimming out of the public eye. She married Neil Innes at 18, became a Christian, and lived on a working farm near Margaret River, southwestern Australia. She farmed, and taught horseriding and surfing, making very few public appearances. She has four children, and now three grandchildren.[1]
Her marriage ended after 22 years, coinciding with a return to public life,[2] and she married Milton Nelms in 2007.[3][4] She now divides her time between Bicheno, Tasmania and Sydney, coaches swimmers, and still swims in Masters competitions.
Gould returned to study in the late 2000s. She studied at the Sydney Film School (2007, Cert IV documentary film, Digital Filmmaking) and was awarded a Master of Environmental Management (2010, with a thesis on the social uses and functions of public swimming pools), and Master of Contemporary Art (2012, with a video piece Loops and Lines). Both degrees are from the University of Tasmania.[5]
Swimming
At the 1972 Summer Olympics, in Munich, Gould won three gold medals, setting a world record in each race. She also won a bronze and a silver medal.
She is the only person, male or female, to hold every world freestyle record from 100 m to 1500 m simultaneously, which she did from 12 December 1971 to 4 August 1972. She is also the first female swimmer ever to win three Olympic gold medals in world record time. She's also the first swimmer, male or female, to win Olympic medals in five individual events in a single Olympics.
At the age of 17, she retired from competitive swimming, citing pressures placed upon her by her success and media profile.
Over two decades later, Gould returned to competitive swimming at Masters level. She set Australian Masters records (40-44 years 100m, 200 m, and 400 m freestyle, and 100 m butterfly) and 45-49 years (50 m butterfly, 100 m and 200 m freestyle). In 2003 she broke the world record for the 45-49 years 200 m individual medley in 2:38.13 (beating the 1961 world record for all ages).[6]
Publications
- Gould, S. 1999, updated 2003. Tumble Turns. HarperCollins. ISBN: 9780732277673 (autobiography)
- Gould, S. 2004. Fit for 50+. Ibis Publishing Australia.
- Gould, S. 2007. Appreciating swimming: beauty and instruction with underwater swimmer photographs. Visual Communication 6: 170-179. doi:10.1177/1470357207077180
Other achievements
- 1971 Best Sportswoman in the World
- 1971 ABC Sportswoman of the Year
- 1972 ABC Sportswoman of the Year
- Australian of the Year in 1972.[7]
- 1981 Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)[8]
- 1994 Olympic Order
- 1995 Legend of Australian Sport
- 2000 Australian Sports Medal[9]
- 2001 Centenary Medal[10]
- 2000 She was one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She carried the Olympic Torch at the stadium, as one of the runners for the final segment, before the lighting of the Olympic Flame.
See also
- List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
- World record progression 100 metres freestyle
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
- World record progression 800 metres freestyle
- World record progression 1500 metres freestyle
- World record progression 200m medley
Notes
- ^ http://www.shanegould.com.au/pages/about-shane.php
- ^ http://www.shanegould.com.au/pages/shanes-autobiography.php
- ^ Shane Gould website
- ^ ABCTV Australian Story On Bicheno Beach 10/09/2012
- ^ http://www.shanegould.com.au/pages/about-shane.php
- ^ http://www.shanegould.com.au/pages/swimming-career.php
- ^ Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 978-1-74196-809-5.
- ^ It's an Honour: MBE
- ^ It's an Honour: Australian Sports Medal
- ^ It's an Honour: Centenary Medal
External links
- Official website
- Shane Gould at the Internet Movie Database
- On Bicheno Beach Documentary produced by Australian Story
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dawn Fraser |
Women's 100 metres Freestyle World Record Holder (Long Course) 30 April 1971 – 13 July 1973 |
Succeeded by Kornelia Ender |
Preceded by Debbie Meyer Shirley Babashoff |
Women's 200 metres Freestyle World Record Holder (Long Course) 1 May 1971 – 4 August 1972 1 September 1972 – 2 August 1974 |
Succeeded by Shirley Babashoff Kornelia Ender |
| Preceded by Karen Moras |
Women's 400 metres Freestyle World Record Holder (Long Course) 30 April 1971 – 22 August 1973 |
Succeeded by Keena Rothhammer |
| Preceded by Ann Simmons |
Women's 800 metres Freestyle World Record Holder (Long Course) 3 December 1971 – 6 August 1972 |
Succeeded by Jo Harshbarger |
| Preceded by Debbie Meyer |
Women's 1500 metres Freestyle World Record Holder (Long Course) 12 December 1971 – 25 August 1973 |
Succeeded by Jo Harshbarger |
| Preceded by Claudia Kolb |
Women's 200 metres Individual Medley World Record Holder (Long Course) 28 August 1972 – 13 April 1973 |
Succeeded by Kornelia Ender |
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