Stephen Roy Holland, OAM (born 31 May 1958) is an Australian former

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Lab ...

swimmer of the 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 1500 m freestyle at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

in Montreal. In a brief and spectacular career, he broke 12 world records and was known as the ''Super Fish'' after his coach

Laurie Lawrence Laurie Joseph Lawrence (born 14 October 1941) is an Australian swimming (sport), swimming coach (sport), coach. He was also an Australia national rugby union team member in 1964. Early life Lawrence was born in the Queensland city of Townsville, ...

likened his two-beat kick to the tail of a fish. He was educated at the

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in East Brisbane, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Q ...

. Holland made his first headlines as a 15-year-old, when he broke the 1500 m freestyle world record at the Australian Championships. In the process, his 800 m split also broke the 800 m freestyle world record. This qualified him to make his international debut at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where he again broke both world records en route to the 1500 m freestyle gold medal, setting a time of 15 m 31.85s. Both he and the 2nd classified swimmer (American

Rick DeMont Richard James DeMont (born April 21, 1956) is an American former competition swimmer, world champion, and former world record-holder in multiple events. DeMont is often remembered for the controversy arising from his disqualification at the 197 ...

) did not stop at the 1500 and continued for 100 m further: :''Holland and American Rick DeMont had a stirring contest in the 1500m final at the 1973 world championships in Belgrade. Holland did not hear the bell to indicate two laps to go and kept swimming through 1500m, bringing DeMont through in comic pursuit. The Queenslander turned again after 1600m, stopping only when the yells and bells from officials got his attention. He'd broken the 800m and 1500m world records in the race – and if there was such a thing he'd still have the 1600m world championship record as well.'' Following this victory, Holland was awarded the ABC Sportsman of the Year award. In 1974, Holland won a gold medal in the 1500 m freestyle at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games, leaving the silver medallist from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, Mark Treffers more than 25 seconds in arrears. Although the time was not a world record, his 800 m split of 8 m 15.88 s bettered his previous 800 m record. On arrival in Montreal for the

, Holland had set 12 world records, and was expected by the Australian public to win. However, he departed from his usual strategy of fast-starting, attacking swimming and decided to swim conservatively and outstay his main rivals, the American duo of

Bobby Hackett Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was an American jazz musician who played trumpet, cornet, and guitar with the bands of Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Hackett was a featured soloist o ...

and

Brian Goodell Brian Stuart Goodell (born April 2, 1959) is an American politician, former competitive swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. He is a city councilman and former mayor of Mission Viejo, California. Car ...

. Holland made his move at the 800 m mark, but then found that he was fading in the final 200 m, when Goodell and Hackett overtook him. Although Holland had bettered his previous world record, Goodell surpassed it to take the gold. Holland later swam the 400 m, finishing fifth behind Goodell, who again set a world record. After the Games, weighed down by the burden of public disappointment, Holland decided at the age of 18 that he was "washed up" and decided to retire from competitive swimming. Holland was awarded 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 Go ...

Medal for services to sport of swimming in 1985, and 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 1989. In 2000, Holland 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 ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Stephen 1958 births Living people Australian male freestyle swimmers Swimmers from Brisbane Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Swimmers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming People educated at Anglican Church Grammar School Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century Australian people Medallists at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games

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