Allan Frederick Wood (16 May 1943 – 10 October 2022) was an Australian freestyle

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, who won bronze medals in the 400-metre and 1500-metre freestyle events at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. He spent his entire career in the shadow of fellow Australian distance freestyle swimmers

Murray Rose Iain Murray Rose, (6 January 1939 – 15 April 2012) was an Australian swimmer, actor, sports commentator and marketing executive. He was a six-time Olympic medalist (four gold, one silver, one bronze), and at one time held the world records ...

and

Bob Windle Robert George Windle (born 7 November 1944) is an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won four Olympic medals, including an individual gold medal. Windle won the 1500 m freestyle and took bronze in the 4 × 100 m ...

who won Olympic gold medals.

Early life and career

Coming from

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

, Wood made his debut at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he was a member of the 4×200-metre freestyle relay team, swimming in the heats. Although the team of

John Devitt John Thomas Devitt, AM (born 4 February 1937) is an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won in controversial circumstances, bein ...

John Konrads John Konrads ( lv, Jānis Konrads; 21 May 1942 – 25 April 2021) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world records, a ...

, David Dickson, and Rose proceeded to claim bronze in the final, Wood was not awarded a medal, as heat swimmers were not entitled to one until 1984. Wood had been expected to do well at the

1962 Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. The ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, as he was the Australian 880-yard freestyle champion. However, a last-minute public appeal brought Rose back from the United States, where he was studying and competing in the US collegiate system. Wood was relegated to silver in the 440-yard freestyle behind Rose, and bronze in the 1650-yard freestyle, behind Rose and Windle. Wood won a gold medal in the 4×220-yard freestyle relay, alongside Windle, Rose, and Tony Strahan and help to set a world record in the process.

1964 Summer Olympics

Prior to the Tokyo Olympics, Wood's coach,

Don Talbot Donald Malcolm Talbot (23 August 19333 November 2020) was an Australian Olympic swimming coach and sport administrator. He coached national teams for Canada, the United States and Australia. Early life Talbot was born on 23 August 1933 as t ...

, strove to change Wood's technique, slowing down the stroke rate, but increasing the deepness of the strokes. This paid dividends at the Olympics when Wood, who had never swum faster than 4 minutes, 20 seconds in the 400-metre freestyle, dropped his personal best to 4 minutes, 15.1 seconds, to claim bronze behind American

Don Schollander Donald Arthur Schollander (born April 30, 1946) is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events. He won a total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 and 1968 S ...

and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Frank Wiegand Frank Wiegand (born 15 March 1943) is a German former swimmer, Olympic medalist and world record holder. He participated in the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics, winning a total of four silver medals. He won eight medals at two European ch ...

. In the 1500-metre freestyle, Wood posted a time of 17 minutes, 7.7 seconds, a 20-second drop in his personal best, in a race won by Windle in Olympic record time. Among the swimmers who Wood defeated was

Roy Saari Roy Allen Saari (February 26, 1945 – December 30, 2008) was an American swimmer and water polo player. He qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics in both disciplines, and chose swimming, as the Olympic rules of the time did not allow him to c ...

, the world record holder in the event. Wood narrowly missed a third medal when he, Windle, Dickson, and Peter Doak finished fourth in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.

Later life

Wood retired from swimming competitively after the 1964 Olympics and became a swimming coach. Later in life, he moved to the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

, and bred horses in the Currumbin Valley. In 1984, he received his bronze medal from the 1960 Olympics, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

awarding them retrospectively. On 10 October 2022, Wood died of cancer at John Flynn Private Hospital in Tugun, Gold Coast. He was 79.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Allan 1943 births 2022 deaths Australian male freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Wollongong Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Swimmers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Deaths from cancer in Queensland Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from New South Wales