Jonathan Scott Sieben, OAM (born 24 August 1966) is an Australian former butterfly

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 ...

of the 1980s, who won gold in the 200-metre butterfly at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles Olympics. Hailing from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Queensland, Sieben was coached by

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

, and made his debut at the young age of 15 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 a ...

in Brisbane, where he captured a bronze in the 200-metre butterfly, as well as gold in the medley relay. Sieben and Lawrence continued their preparation for Los Angeles, but were given little chance. Sieben was known to his friends as ''The Shrimp'', as he stood just 173 cm, in contrast to the dominant swimmer of the time, West Germany's Michael Gross, the world record holder, known as ''The Albatross'' with his 200 cm frame and 225 cm wingspan. He also faced the 100-metre butterfly world record holder, the United States'

Pablo Morales Pedro Pablo Morales Jr. (born December 5, 1964) is an American former competitive swimmer. He set world records in the 100-meter butterfly in 1984 and 1986. He was the 100-meter butterfly gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games, as well as win ...

. Sieben swam in the wake of Gross and Morales in the first 150 metres, before storming home in the last 50 metres to claim the gold medal in a world record time of 1 m 57.04 s, more than four seconds faster than he had ever swum before. He also collected a bronze medal after swimming in the preliminaries of the medley relay. He was named the

Young Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

in 1984. By the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in Seoul, Sieben's ability had waned, and the selectors did not choose him for the 200 m butterfly. He finished fourth in the 100-metre butterfly. He continued onto the

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 ...

in Barcelona, but failed to reach the final of the 100-metre butterfly individual event. He formed part of Australia's 4x100-metre medley relay team that finished 7th in the final, in a national record time of 3:42.65. Sieben 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 2020 Jon was involved in the construction of the North Queensland Cowboys' Community, Training and High Performance Centre commissioning the pools for Chris Williams and Hutchinson Builders.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sieben, Jon 1966 births Living people Australian male butterfly swimmers Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers from Brisbane Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Australian people of German descent World record setters in swimming Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Olympic bronze medalists in swimming People educated at Brisbane State High School Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic gold medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Universiade medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Universiade gold medalists for Australia Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade

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