John Malcolm Henricks (born 6 June 1935) is an Australian Olympic

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 two gold medals at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne. Henricks set world records in two freestyle events.

Career

Henricks began his competitive swimming career as a distance freestyle swimmer. He scored his first notable successes at the 1952 Australian national championships, when he came third in the 1500 meters, second in the 800 meters, and first in the 400 meters. A prolonged ear infection kept him off the 1952 Australian Olympic team. His coach Harry Gallagher converted him to sprint freestyle events, and he bettered the Olympic record for 100 meters at the 1953 Australian national championships. He held the 100 meters long-course world record for five years, winning gold medals in the 100 metres and 4×200-metre freestyle relay at the

in Melbourne. During those five years, he lowered the pre-existing record by almost two seconds. During that time, he won ten Australian individual championships in those events, two

British Empire 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 ...

medals and establishing new records in 1954, the Japanese Nationals, the Keo Nakama meet in Hawaii, the Philippine Nationals, and broke two American records while on a visit in 1954. He was named Australian Athlete of the Year by the Helms Hall of Fame in 1955. In 1958, he won the American outdoor national championships in the 100 and 200 meters. After the 1956 Olympics, Henricks enrolled in 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 ...

(USC), where he was a member of the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

swimming team. As a freshman at USC, he teamed with

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 ...

, Don Reddington, Tom Winters and Denis Devine, a five-man freshman team that broke the New Haven Swim Club's dynastic grasp on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) indoor championships. The USC freshman team grew into a collegiate powerhouse in the late 1950s and 1960s, dominating the

Pacific-8 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

, winning the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) team championship in 1960, and laying the groundwork for greater success. In 1960 Henricks made another attempt at the Olympics, winning the Australian trials handily. Henricks contracted a gastrointestinal ailment at the Olympics in Rome and was eliminated in Semi Final 2, finishing fourth. Australian

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 ...

and American Lance Larson were left to contend. Both were teammates; Larson on his USC team, Devitt on his Australian team.

Personal life

Henricks married an American girl, Bonnie Wilkie, sister of his USC teammate

Mike Wilkie Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, in 1960. The Australian and American Olympic swim teams attended the wedding, which produced a photograph of Olympic rivals Larson and Devitt hugging each other. Henricks attended Fort Street Boys' High School in Petersham, NSW

Achievements

* 1952 Australian Championships: gold medal in 400m freestyle, silver in 800m freestyle, bronze in 1500m freestyle * Australian Athlete of the year in 1955 * 1956 Olympic Games: Gold medals in 100m freestyle and 4 × 200 m freestyle relay * 1953-1958 Australian Championships: 10 gold medals in 100m freestyle and 4 × 200 m freestyle relay * British Empire Games: 2 medals * Japanese Nationals: 1 medal * Keo Nakam meet: 1 medal * Philippine Nationals: 1 medal * American Nationals (outdoor): 100m and 200m freestyle medals in 1958 * American Records: 2 * 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 1973 * 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 1986

Notes

References

External links