Dawn Fraser (born 4 September 1937) is an Australian freestyle champion

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 ...

and former politician. She is one of only four swimmers to have won the same Olympic individual event three times – in her case the women's 100-metre freestyle.Dawn Fraser
. sports-reference.com

Early life

Fraser was born in the Sydney suburb of

Balmain, New South Wales Balmain is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Inner West Council. It is locate ...

, in 1937 into a poor working-class family, the youngest of eight children. Her father, Kenneth Fraser, was from

Embo Embo ( gd, Eurabol, IPA: �iaɾəpɔɫ̪ is a village in the Highland Council Area in Scotland and the former postal county of Sutherland, about north-northeast of Dornoch. On 16 July 1988, Embo declared itself independent from the rest of the ...

, Scotland. 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 The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

gold medals. She also held 39 records. The 100 metres freestyle record was hers for 15 years from 1 December 1956 to 8 January 1972. She is the first of only four swimmers in Olympic history (

Krisztina Egerszegi Krisztina Egerszegi (; born 16 August 1974) is a Hungarian former world record holding swimmer and one of the greatest Hungarian Olympic champions of the modern era. She is a three-time Olympian (1988, 1992 and 1996) and five-time Olympic ch ...

of Hungary,

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

and Katie Ledecky both from the United States being the three others) to have won individual gold medals for the same event at three successive Olympics (100 metres 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 1972, eight years after Fraser retired, that her 100m record of 58.9 secs was broken. Several weeks before the

1964 Olympics 1964 Olympics refers to both: *The 1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Ba ...

, Fraser was injured in a car crash that resulted in the death of her mother Rose. Her sister and a friend were also travelling in Fraser's car when it crashed, but they survived. This was a fresh tragedy for Fraser and her family following her older brother's death from leukaemia in 1950, and her father died after a long battle against cancer in 1960.

Controversy

During 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 ...

in Tokyo, Fraser angered swimming team sponsors and the Australian Swimming Union (ASU) by marching in the opening ceremony against their wishes, and wearing an older swimming costume in competition, as she found it more comfortable than the one supplied by the sponsors. She was also accused of stealing an Olympic flag from a flagpole outside

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

's palace, the

Kōkyo The is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor has his living quarters, the where va ...

. She was arrested but released without charge. In the end she was given the flag as a souvenir. She later denied having swum 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." The Australian Amateur Swimming Association banned Fraser from competitive swimming for 10 years. In 1997, Fraser told the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

: "I mean I wish I could be as outspoken, I suppose, as

Pauline Hanson Pauline Lee Hanson (''née'' Seccombe, formerly Zagorski; born 27 May 1954) is an Australian politician who is the founder and leader of One Nation, a right-wing populist political party. Hanson has represented Queensland in the Australian ...

and say, 'look, I'm sick and tired of the immigrants that are coming into my country.'" Fraser also stated her interest in joining Hanson's

One Nation Party Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON or ONP), also known as One Nation or One Nation Party, is a right-wing populist political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. One Nation had electoral success in the late 1990s, before suffer ...

. In 2015, during an interview on the ''Today'' program, Fraser was asked about recent behaviour of

Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. In singles, Kyrgios' career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 was achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won seven ATP Tour singles titles, includin ...

at Wimbledon and

Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; hr, Bernard Tomić, ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player whose career-high ranking was world No. 17. As a junior, Tomic enjoyed a successful career in which he won an Orange Bowl title and two ju ...

’s comments about

Tennis Australia Tennis Australia Limited is the governing body for Tennis in Australia. It is owned by Australian states and territories. The association organises national and international Tennis tournaments including the Australian Open, the Australian Open S ...

, which resulted in Tomic being removed from the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

team. Fraser said, "They should be setting a better example for the younger generation of this country ... If they don’t like it, go back to where their fathers or their parents came from". (Kyrgios is of

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

ancestry, while Tomic is of

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

extraction.) Kyrgios responded by describing her as a "blatant racist", and Fraser's comments were criticised by Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane. Fraser "unreservedly" apologised for her comments.

Post-swimming activities

Fraser became a publican at the Riverview Hotel, Balmain, and took up swimming coaching. In 1988, she was elected as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for the seat of Balmain. That electorate was abolished in 1991, and after she failed to win the new seat of

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

, she retired from politics. Fraser is a high-profile supporter and a board director of the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

club.

Honours

She was named the

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

in 1964, was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

in 1965, (as Dawn Ware) was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in 1967, and appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in 1998. Also in 1998, she was voted Australia's greatest female athlete in history. She was named Australian Female Athlete of the Century by the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

, who had inducted her as their first female member in 1985. In 1999 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 ...

named her the World's Greatest Living Female Water Sports Champion. on 14 July 2000, Fraser was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

for "outstanding contribution as a swimming competitor". She was one of the bearers of the

Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...

at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

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 ...

in Sydney. She carried the Olympic Torch at the stadium, as one of the bearers for the final segment, before the lighting of the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

. The

Australian Sport Awards The Australian Sport Awards, originally called the Sport Australia Awards, were established by the Confederation of Australian Sport in 1980. From 1980 to 1996, the awards were limited to seven categories. In 1993, there was a merger of the Sport ...

includes an award named in honour of and presented by Fraser. The sea baths in Balmain where she swam were named the

Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool is a heritage-listed swimming baths complex at Glassop Street, Balmain, New South Wales, Balmain, Inner West Council, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was built by 1882 by James Reynolds, with alterations when ...

in her honour in 1964, and in 1992, the

State Transit Authority The State Transit Authority of New South Wales, also referred to as State Transit, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales operating bus services in Sydney. Superseding the Urban Transit Authority in 1989, it was also responsible for ...

named a RiverCat ferry after Fraser. As part of the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours she was advanced to a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AC). In 2022, she was an inaugural inductee of the Swimming Australia Hall of Fame.

In film

In 1979, a movie called ''

Dawn! ''Dawn!'' is a 1979 Australian sports biopic about the three-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Dawn Fraser, who served as technical adviser for the production, it starring Bronwyn Mackay Payne and Bunney Brooke, written by Joy Cavill and di ...

'' was made about Fraser's life and career. It starred Bronwyn Mackay-Payne as Fraser. Fraser was played by Melissa Thomas in the 2003 film ''

Swimming Upstream ''Swimming Upstream'' is a 2003 Australian biographical drama film written by Tony Fingleton and directed by Russell Mulcahy. It stars Jesse Spencer, Geoffrey Rush, and Judy Davis. It shows the life of Fingleton (Spencer) from childhood to adul ...

''. Fraser herself is credited in the film as Dawn Fraser's coach. On 1 September 2015, Dawn Fraser featured on Season 7, Episode 5, of the SBS genealogy television series ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', which traced her heritage back to South America.

Personal life

Fraser married Gary Ware on 30 January 1965 at St Stephens Church, Macquarie Street, Sydney. The marriage was short-lived. She has one daughter from the marriage, who has a son. They all live in

Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was ...

on the Sunshine Coast in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. This move north from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to a warmer, subtropical climate was due to the fact Fraser suffers from severe asthma.

Olympic accomplishments

* 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games **110 yards freestyle – gold medal **440 yards freestyle – gold medal **4 × 110 yards (4 × 100.58 metres) freestyle relay – gold medal **4 × 110 yards (4 × 100.58 metres) medley relay – gold medal

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Dawn 1937 births Australian female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers from Sydney Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia World record setters in swimming Australian sportsperson-politicians Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian autobiographers Australian of the Year Award winners Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Living people Women autobiographers Australian people of Scottish descent Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly The Apprentice Australia candidates