Daniel Steven Kowalski (born 2 July 1975) is an Australian former middle- and long-distance swimmer specialising in
freestyle events. He competed in the Olympic Games in 200-, 400- and 1,500-metre individual freestyle events and in the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay. At the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, he was the first man in 92 years to earn medals in all of the 200-, 400- and 1500-metre freestyle events. Kowalski, alongside
Livinia Nixon
Livinia Helen Nixon (19 March 1975) is an Australian television presenter and actress.
Nixon is the chief weather presenter for ''Nine News Melbourne''.[Kieren Perkins
Kieren John Perkins, OAM (born 14 August 1973) is a former Australian freestyle swimmer. He specialised in the 1500-metre freestyle and won successive Olympic gold medals in this event in the 1990s. He won his first at the 1992 Olympics which ...]
and
Grant Hackett
Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him t ...
, who were, respectively, the world's best 1500-metre freestyle competitors during the earlier and later parts of Kowalski's career. He was an
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...
scholarship holder. Daniel's coaches included Denis Cotterell and
Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flor ...
.
Olympic medals
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2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
: gold medal in the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay (Kowalski was replaced in the final by
Ian Thorpe
Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...
but as a swimmer in the qualifying heat, he shares the gold medal)
*
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
: silver medal in the 1500-metre freestyle, bronze medal in the 400 m freestyle, and bronze medal in the 200-metre freestyle
World championship results
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1998 World Aquatics Championships
The 8th FINA World Championships or the 1998 World Aquatics Championships were held from 8 to 17 January 1998 in Perth, Western Australia. The championships features competition in all five of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, S ...
: bronze medal in the 1500-metre freestyle
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1994 World Aquatics Championships: gold medal in the 4 × 200-metre relay, silver medal in the 1500-metre freestyle
World records
Kowalski was part of the world record-setting Australian gold medal 4 × 200-metre relay team at the
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...
. Kowalski also holds 400-metre freestyle long-course masters world record in the 30-to-34 age group which he set on 2 May 2009 in a time of 3:58.42.
Retirement
Kowalski announced his retirement from competitive swimming on 8 May 2002. He studied sports marketing at
Bond University
Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...
, graduating in 2003. He was named as an assistant swimming coach at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
in 2007, and also won the 2007
Pier to Pub
The Lorne Pier to Pub is an annual, 1.2-km open water swimming race held in January at Lorne, a town located on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. It began in 1981, when a member of the Lorne Surf Lifesaving Club, the Late Paul Lacey, ...
1.2 km open-water swim held annually in
Lorne, Australia.
In February 2004, he was the host of an overnight program on
SEN 1116
1116 SEN (call sign 3AK) is an Australian radio station in Victoria. Owned and operated by Pacific Star Network, it broadcasts a sports radio format from Lower Plenty to Greater Melbourne. First broadcast on 29 November 1931 as 3AK, the st ...
with former
South East Melbourne Magic
The South East Melbourne Magic was an Australian basketball team based in Melbourne. The Magic competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) between 1992 and 1998, and played their home games at Rod Laver Arena.
In their seven seasons, the ...
basketballer
Andrew Parkinson. In May 2007 Kowalski appeared as one of the celebrity performers on the celebrity reality singing competition ''
It Takes Two''.
In April 2010 Kowalski announced that he is
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
. Kowalski says he was inspired to come out by Welsh rugby player
Gareth Thomas, who announced the previous December that he was gay. He said "I felt really compelled to do it because it's very tough to live a closeted existence". In 2010, Kowalski was selected by readers of samesame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential gay Australians.
See also
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List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming from 1930 to 2022.
Current program
50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
50 metre backstroke
...
*
List of LGBT Olympians
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Men's events 50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
200 metre ...
References
External links
ABC Online News: Athletes – Daniel KowalskiAustralian Swimming , Swimmer Profile
Daniel Kowalski announces his retirement*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kowalski, Daniel
1975 births
Living people
Australian male freestyle swimmers
Bond University alumni
World record setters in swimming
Gay sportsmen
LGBT swimmers
LGBT sportspeople from Australia
Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
Olympic gold medalists for Australia
Olympic bronze medalists in swimming
Olympic silver medalists for Australia
Olympic swimmers of Australia
Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming
Australian Institute of Sport swimmers
Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Olympic gold medalists in swimming
Olympic silver medalists in swimming
Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming
Swimmers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games
Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Male long-distance swimmers
21st-century LGBT people