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Dawn Fraser

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Dawn Fraser
Personal information
Full nameDawn Fraser
NicknameFrase
NationalityAustralian
Born (1937-09-04) 4 September 1937 (age 87)
Balmain, New South Wales
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle & Butterfly
Medal record
Women’s Swimming
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1964 Tokyo 100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1956 Melbourne 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 1964 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1958 Cardiff 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1962 Perth 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1962 Perth 400 m freestyle

Dawn Fraser AO, MBE (born 4 September 1937) is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle.

Within Australia, she is known for her controversial behaviour and larrikin character as much as for her athletic ability.

Early life

Fraser was born in the Sydney suburb of Balmain in 1937 into a working-class family. She was spotted at the early age of 14 by Sydney coach Harry Gallagher swimming at the local sea baths.

Swimming career

Fraser won eight Olympic medals, including four gold medals, and six Commonwealth Games gold medals. She also held 39 records. The 100 meters freestyle record was hers for 15 years from 1 December 1956 to 8 January 1972.

She is the first of only two swimmers in Olympic history (Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary being the other) to win individual gold medals for the same event at three successive Olympics (100 meters freestyle – 1956, 1960, 1964).

In October 1962, she became the first woman to swim 100 metres freestyle in less than one minute.[1] It was not until 1973, eight years after Fraser retired, that her 100m record of 58.9 secs was broken.[2]

During the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Fraser angered swimming team sponsors and the Australian Swimming Union (ASU) by marching in the opening ceremony against their wishes, wearing an older swimming costume because it was more comfortable than the one supplied by the sponsors. She also stole an Olympic flag from a flagpole outside Emperor Hirohito's palace.[3] She was arrested but released without charge. The Emperor gave her the flag as a souvenir. However, the Australian Swimming Union suspended her for 10 years. They repented a few months before the 1968 Games but by then it was too late for Fraser, at 31, to prepare.

She would later deny swimming the moat to steal the flag, telling The Times in 1991: "There's no way I would have swum that moat. I was terrified of dirty water and that moat was filthy. There's no way I'd have dipped my toe in it."

Post-swimming activities

Fraser became a publican at the Riverview Hotel, Balmain, and took up swim-coaching. In 1988, she was elected an independent Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the seat of Balmain. Fraser left politics when the seat was abolished in 1991.[4]

Honours

She was named the Australian of the Year in 1964,[5] was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1967,[6] and appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1998.[7] Also in 1998, she was voted Australia's greatest female athlete in history.[citation needed] She was named Australian Female Athlete of the Century by the Sport Australian Hall of Fame.[citation needed] In 1999 the International Olympic Committee named her the World's Greatest Living Female Water Sports Champion.[citation needed]

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.

The Australian Sport Awards includes an award named in honour of and presented by Fraser. There is also a Sydney Ferries ferry named after her, that operates on the Parramatta River in Sydney.

Personal life

She married Gary Ware in the 1960s, but the marriage was short-lived. They have one daughter, Dawn Lorraine.

Olympic Accomplishments

Event Time Place
1956 Summer Olympics
100m Freestyle 1:02.0 Gold WR
400m Freestyle 5:02.5 Silver
4x100m Freestyle Relay 4:17.1 Gold WR
1960 Summer Olympics
100m Freestyle 1:01.2 Gold OR
400m Freestyle 4:58.5 5th
4x100m Freestyle Relay 4:11.3 Silver
4x100m Medley Relay 4:45.9 Silver
1964 Summer Olympics
100m Freestyle 59.5 Gold OR
400m Freestyle 4:47.6 4th
4x100m Freestyle Relay 4:06.9 Silver
4x100m Medley Relay 4:52.3 9th
  • 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games
    • 110 yards freestyle – gold medal
    • 440 yards freestyle – gold medal
    • 4 x 110 yards (4 x 100.58 metres) freestyle relay – gold medal
    • 4 x 110 yards (4 x 100.58 metres) medley relay – gold medal

See also

References

  1. ^ Clarkson, Alan (28 October 1962). "Champion's world time in 110 yds". The Sun-Herald. p. 67.
  2. ^ "Swim contest a spectacular of records". The Sun-Herald. AAP, Reuters. 2 May 1971. p. 107.
  3. ^ Monica Attard, Lorna Knowles and Dan Driscoll (Sunday, 15 April 2007). "Dawn Fraser: still kicking". Sunday Profile. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Radio National. {{cite episode}}: Check |serieslink= value (help); Check date values in: |airdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |began=, |episodelink=, |city=, |ended=, and |seriesno= (help); External link in |serieslink= and |transcripturl= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Ms Dawn Fraser (1937 – )". Members of Parliament. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  5. ^ Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 9781741968095.
  6. ^ It's an Honour – Member of the Order of the British Empire
  7. ^ It's an Honour – Officer of the Order of Australia
Parliament of New South Wales
Preceded by Member for Balmain
1988—1991 		District abolished
Honorary titles
Preceded by Australian of the Year
1964 		Succeeded by

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