Terrence Stephen Gathercole (25 November 1935 – 30 May 2001), was an Australian

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a silver medal in the 4x100-metre medley 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 ...

. He later became a swimming coach, at one stage being the Australian female team coach 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 ...

and guiding numerous breaststroke students to Olympic and World Championship gold medals. He also served as the president of

Swimming Australia Swimming Australia is the peak governing body for competitive swimming in Australia. The body has approximately 100,000 registered members nationally in 1100 clubs across the country, which includes swimmers, coaches, officials, administrators ...

Biography

Born in Tallimba, New South Wales. He grew up in

West Wyalong, New South Wales West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney and above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and the ...

where he lived throughout his school years. In 1957, he married Carol Fraser and they had three children – Gai, Ben and Tim. He died in 2001 because of heart problems, an illness which he had carried for 15 years after requiring open-heart surgery. A public memorial service at the

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 ...

in Canberra, where he coached, was attended by Prime Minister John Howard and several federal cabinet ministers.

Swimming career

Gathercole swam for the West Wyalong Swimming Club and received coaching advive through the mail from

Forbes Carlile Forbes Carlile MBE (3 June 19212 August 2016) was Australia's first post- World War II Olympics swimming coach and later Australia's first competitor in the modern pentathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He remains the only person to ...

. Gathercole first came to prominence in the 1954 Australian Championships, when he won the first of his ten Australian Championships. He made his international debut 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, contesting the 200-metre breaststroke, at the first Olympics in which the

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

stroke was separated from breaststroke swimming. He finished fourth in the final, just 0.1 of a second behind the bronze medalist Charis Yunichev of the Soviet Union. He was coached by

after moving to Sydney. Gathercole reached the peak of his swimming career in 1958 when he set the world record for the 200-metre breaststroke at the Tobruk Pool in Townsville, Queensland. He held this world record for over three years. In the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

in Cardiff, Wales, he won the 220-yard breaststroke and combined with John Monckton, John Devitt and Brian Wilkinson to claim the 4x110-yard medley relay. Gathercole's final appearance on the international arena as a swimmer was at the

in Rome, where he won his semifinal of the 200-metre breaststroke. However, in the final he only managed sixth, almost three seconds behind Bill Mulliken of the United States. Gathercole then combined with

David Theile David Egmont Theile, AO (born 17 January 1938) is an Australian former backstroke swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won consecutive gold medals in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, the only Australian to do so. H ...

Neville Hayes Neville Ronald Hayes (2 December 1943 – 28 June 2022) was an Australian butterfly swimmer of the 1960s, who won two silver medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, in the 200-metre butterfly and the 4×100-metre medley relay. Hayes set w ...

and

Geoff Shipton Geoffrey Lloyd Shipton (born 4 June 1941) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre medley relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. The New South Welshman combined wi ...

to claim silver in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, again behind the Americans. Gathercole had at various times in his career held the world record in the 200-metre, and national records in the 110- and 220-yard breaststroke.

Coaching career

Gathercole then became a coach, beginning as an assistant to

. In December 1960, he became a full-time professional coach and built an indoor short course pool in

Castle Cove, New South Wales Castle Cove is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Cove is located north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby. Castle Cove ...

, a northern suburb of Sydney. At the

in Tokyo, the Australian Olympic Federation agreed to appoint team coaches for the first time. Gathercole was named as the national women's coach. Among the breaststrokers that Gathercole coached were

Ian O'Brien Ian Lovett O'Brien (born 3 March 1947) is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1960s who won the 200 metre breaststroke at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in world record time. He won five Commonwealth Games gold medals and claime ...

(

200-metre breaststroke champion) and

Beverley Whitfield Beverley Joy Whitfield (15 June 1954 – 20 August 1996) was an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1970s, who won a gold medal in the 200-metre breaststroke at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. She was coached by Terry Gathercole and D ...

(

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

200-metre breaststroke champion) and backstroker and

Lisa Forrest Lisa Marie Forrest (born 9 March 1964)
Sports Ref ...

(dual gold medallist at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

). In 1986, Gathercole was appointed as a Senior Coach with the

's swimming program. Whilst at the AIS, he coached

Linley Frame Linley Margaret Frame (born 12 November 1971), is an Australian competitive swimmer who won a gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at the 1991 FINA World Aquatics Championships, and represented Australia at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barce ...

(

1991 World Aquatics Championships The 1991 World Aquatics Championships took place at the Claremont Superdrome in Perth, Western Australia from 3 to 13 January 1991 with 1142 participating athletes. Medal table Medal summary Diving ;Men ;Women Open water swimming ; ...

100-metre breaststroke champion) and Phil Rogers (

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

100-metre breaststroke bronze medallist). In 1992, he retired from the AIS due to heath concerns. He served as a coach for the national team for 28 years until his retirement in 1992. Major national team coaching appointments: * Olympic Games – 1964 Rome, 1976 Montreal, and 1992 Barcelona * World Long Course Championships – 1975 Columbia and 1991 Perth * Commonwealth Games – 1966 Kingston

Administration career

He was elected vice president of Australian Swimming from 1992 to 1996 and president from 1997–2000.

Recognition

*1981– Australian Coach of the Year *1985 – Inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer". *1987 – Life member of the Australian Swim Coaches Association *1987 – Master Coach by the Australian Swim Coaches Association *1988 – Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of service to the sport of swimming. *1991 – Australian Coaching Council's Individual Coach of the Year. *1999 – inducted into

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 t ...

References

External links

Obituary from www.swiminfo.com, the website
of

Swimming World magazine ''Swimming World'' is a US-based monthly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'', (known ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gathercole, Terry 1935 births 2001 deaths Sportsmen from New South Wales Olympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Australian swimming coaches Members of the Order of Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia World record setters in swimming Olympic coaches for Australia Australian Institute of Sport coaches Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Australian male breaststroke swimmers 20th-century Australian people Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games