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 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 Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world records, and after his swimming career ended, was the

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

n director of

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ...

, as well as campaigning for the Sydney Olympics bid. Along with his sister Ilsa, who also set multiple world records, they were known as the ''Konrads Kids''.

Early life

Konrads was born Jānis Konrads in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia, on 21 May 1942. He emigrated with his parents Jānis and Elza, grandmother, elder sister Eve and younger sister Ilsa in August 1944, initially staying in Germany. This came after occupation of Latvia by German troops during the Second World War and then reoccupation by Soviet troops. Living in Germany until 1949, their application to immigrate to the United States was refused on account of the large size of the family. Instead, Australia accepted them. They were first located at Greta migrants' camp near

Maitland, New South Wales Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England Hi ...

, and then 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 ...

, in mid-western New South Wales, at what had been a base for the

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

. There his father Jānis taught the children to swim, fearing that they could drown in the many watering holes and dams in the camp. After spending four weeks in hospital due to a case of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

, Konrads swam therapeutically to rebuild strength. His father 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 si ...

'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 recognised, but withdrew due to the demands of raising three children. Konrads and his 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 as the Bankstown Swimming Pool coach. Konrads joined the club in the 1953–1954 season, winning the junior 880 yd freestyle. His first national title came in 1956, winning the junior 440 yd freestyle. This led to Konrads being selected for the team to attend the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, although as a reserve he did not compete in any form. Every day, John and his younger sister Ilsa 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. The results of his training began to materialise in 1958, when he started to win his first national titles and break his first world records. In Sydney in January, in the space of eight days, he broke six world records: 200 m, 220 yd, 400 m, 440 yd, 800 m and 800 yd. He set another eight in February and March, including a 1500 m and 1650 yd world record, and proceeded to win the 220 yd, 440 yd and 1650 yd freestyle at the Australian Championships. At the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff, he won the 440 yd and 1650 yd and then combined with

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 ...

, Gary Chapman and Brian Wilkinson to claim the 4 × 220 yd freestyle. One year later, he broke six world records in the same six events as he did in January the previous year, and was the first person to sweep the freestyle events from 110 yd to 1650 yd at the Australian Championships, winning the Helms Award. He decided in conjunction with Talbot to concentrate on the 400 m and 1500 m events for the Olympics, and in 1960, at the Australian championships, set world records in the 400 m, 440 yd, 1500 m and 1650 yd events. He also won the 220 yd event in world record time, but it was not an Olympic event at the time.

Rome Olympics

At the Olympics in Rome, fellow Australian and defending 400 m and 1500 m champion

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 ...

had returned from the United States to compete, and qualified fastest for the 400 m final, although well outside Konrads' mark. Konrads held the lead in the final until the halfway mark, when Rose attacked and Konrads deviated from his raceplan. Rose went on to win in 4 m 18.3 s while Konrads was third in 4 m 21.8 s, well outside his world record of 4 m 15.9 s. In the 1500 m final, Konrads qualified second as Rose set an Olympic record in the final. Although

George Breen George Thomas Breen (July 19, 1935 – November 9, 2019) was an American competition swimmer, four-time Olympic medalist, and world record-holder in three events. After retiring as a swimmer, he became a coach at Jersey Wahoos Swim Club in New ...

of the United States had attacked early, Konrads stuck to his raceplan and overhauled him to win in an Olympic record time of 17 m 19.6 s, with Rose second. In the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, Konrads combined with Devitt, Rose and David Dickson to claim a bronze medal behind the United States and Japan. In Olympic training at the Tobruk Pool,

Townsville, Queensland Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, the Australians had broken the world record for this event, but without teammate

Jon Henricks John Malcolm Henricks (born 6 June 1935) is an Australian Olympic swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Henricks set world records in two freestyle events. Career Henricks began his competitive swimming ca ...

, who withdrew due to illness, they were not able to keep pace with the Americans who claimed both the gold and the world record.

Later life

After the games, Konrads accepted a swimming scholarship at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, where his performances decreased over time. Upon returning to Australia to qualify for 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 ...

, he managed only qualification for the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay team. He only swam in the heats, and watched from the stands as another Australian,

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 ...

, claimed his 1500 m title. After retirement, Konrads became a swimming coach, and with his marketing degree from USC, he eventually rose to the Australasian directorship of

. He later established a consultancy and advertising firm. Konrads publicly revealed his struggles with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, and sought to raise public awareness with features on Australian television. In 1984, Konrads had one of his gold medals (1500-metre freestyle – 1960 Rome Olympics) stolen from his Melbourne home. It was found 25 years later after a woman tried to sell it to an American sports enthusiast.John Konrads' stolen medals returned after 24 years
– Nicole Jeffery, ''The Australian'', 23 September 2009, Retrieved 12 December 2009. The woman purchased the gold medal at a bric-a-brac sale in Brisbane. The returned medal is now on loan for display at the

National Sports Museum The Australian Sports Museum (formerly the National Sports Museum) is a museum dedicated to Australian sport and is located within the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. There are exhibits for sports such as cricket, Australian ...

in Melbourne.Stolen Olympic medals found in shoe box
Mex Cooper, ''The Age'', 22 September 2009, 12 December 2009 In 2011, Konrads decided to auction his collection of swimming memorabilia, including his medals. This was acquired by the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

in August of that year. Konrads died on 25 April 2021 at the age of 78.

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 1985. In 2000, he 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 ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

Official website
*
John Konrads interviewed by Four Corners in 1961
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konrads, John 1942 births 2021 deaths Australian male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of Australia 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 Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Swimmers from Sydney Sportspeople from Riga Latvian emigrants to Australia Latvian World War II refugees People with bipolar disorder People educated at Sydney Technical High School World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming