REMINISCING ... DAWN FRASER

REMINISCING ... DAWN FRASER

Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. Within Australia, she is known for her controversial behaviour and larrikin character as much as for her athletic ability. 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. It was not until 1973, eight years after Fraser retired, that her 100m record of 58.9 secs was broken.