Ilsa Konrads ( lv, Ilze Konrade; born 29 March 1944) is an Australian former freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay 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 ...

. In her career, she set 13 individual world records, and after her swimming career ended, was the Australasian editor of '' Belle'' magazine. Along with her brother John Konrads, who also set multiple world records, and won gold in the 1500-metre freestyle, they were known as the ''Konrad Kids''.

Career

John&IlsaKonradsUranquintyPublicMemorial

Born in Riga, Latvia, Konrads emigrated with her parents Jānis and Elza, grandmother, elder sister Eve, and elder brother John (Jānis) in August 1944, initially to Germany. This came after Latvia's occupation by German troops during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and then re-occupation by Soviet troops. Living in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

until 1949, their application to immigrate to the United States was refused on account of the large size of the family. They were relocated to a camp at

Uranquinty Uranquinty is a small town approximately south of Wagga Wagga, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The population of the town, often referred to as "Quinty", is 909. Uranquinty was used as the railway village when the railw ...

, which was previously a base for the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, in rural western New South Wales. There her father Jānis taught the children to swim, fearing that they could drown in the many watering holes and dams in the camp. Jānis secured a job in Sydney as a dentist, and the family settled first in

Pennant Hills Pennant Hills is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Pennant Hills is located 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsb ...

and then

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...

. Elza enrolled in the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

's dentistry program, as her qualification from the

University of Riga University of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Universitāte, shortened ''LU'') is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia established in 1919. The ''QS World University Rankings'' places the university between 801st and 1000th globally, seventh ...

was not recognized, but withdrew due to the demands of raising three children. Ilsa and her siblings attended Revesby Primary School, where one of the schoolteachers was

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 ...

. Talbot was an assistant to Frank Guthrie at the Bankstown Swimming Pool. Every day, Ilsa and her elder brother John cycled to the Bankstown pool before sunrise, for a two-hour training session, before returning home for breakfast and then attending school. After school, they would cycle back to the pool and repeat the training regimen. In 1958, the results of Talbot's regime training began to materialize, when at the age of 13, she broke the 800-metre and 880-yard freestyle world records at the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

championships, and then defeated

Lorraine Crapp Lorraine Joyce Thurlow, (born 1 October 1938), née Crapp, is a former Olympic swimming champion representing Australia. In world swimming history, Crapp earned a place as the first woman to break the five-minute barrier in the 400 m freestyle ...

to become the first woman to complete 440-yard under five minutes. She then defeated Crapp and

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

at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff to win the 440-yard freestyle event. In the two years preceding the

, she set world records in the 440-yard, 400-metre, 1500-metre and 1650-yard events. At the Olympics, she suffered from nerves and was eliminated in the heats of the 100 m freestyle, and managed fourth in the 400 m freestyle, some 12s slower than her personal best. She collected a silver in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, along with Fraser, Crapp and

Alva Colquhoun Alva Merlin Colquhoun (married name Wyatt, born 28 February 1942) is an Australian former freestyle and butterfly swimmer of the 1950s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. She is perha ...

. Her last competition was at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia, where she claimed silver in the 440 yd event. After her retirement from competitive swimming, Konrads went into journalism, and eventually became the editor of '' Belle'', from 1975 to 1979, a leading Australian interior design magazine, and ''Vogue Living'', from 1979 to 1984 and 1992 to 1999. Konrads also worked for the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' newspaper, and since 1999 has been running her own business.

Honours

Konrads was inducted into 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 ...

in 1987. In 2000, she received an

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 ...

References

* *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konrads, Ilsa 1944 births Living people Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportswomen from New South Wales Sportspeople from Riga Latvian emigrants to Australia Latvian World War II refugees Olympic silver medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Swimmers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games World record setters in swimming Australian female freestyle swimmers Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Swimmers from Sydney Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming

Career

Honours

See also

References