Susan O'Neill, (born 2 August 1973) is an Australian former competitive swimmer from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career.

Early life

O'Neill was born on 2 August 1973 in

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...

, to Trish and John O'Neill. She has two siblings, a brother and a sister. Her family moved to

and she was educated at Lourdes Hill College (LHC) in Hawthorne. Whilst at LHC, O'Neill excelled in sport, setting school records in 50 m and 100 m butterfly, freestyle, and backstroke. She was also LHC cross country champion and set records for the 13 years 800 m in 1986 and for the 15 years 400 m in 1988 for athletics. All these records still stood as of 2011.

Swimming career

O'Neill won the 200m butterfly at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 200m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She has won 35 Australian titles, 8 Olympic medals including 2 gold, and 24 gold medals in major international competitions. Only

Emma McKeon Emma Jennifer McKeon, (born 24 May 1994) is a retired Australian competitive swimmer. She is an eight-time world record holder, three current and five former, in relays. Her total career haul of 14 Olympic medals following the 2024 Olympic Gam ...

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle swimming, freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the medley swimming, individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the se ...

and Leisel Jones have won more Olympic medals for Australia. At her international debut at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, she won two medals (gold and silver), and continued to add to her medals cache at every international competition until her final Olympics. In front of a home crowd at the 2000 Olympic Games Trials she broke the 19-year standing world record of another "Madame Butterfly", Mary T. Meagher, in the 200m butterfly, but was beaten in an upset at the 2000 Olympic Games by American

Misty Hyman Misty Dawn Marie Hyman (born March 23, 1979) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Hyman won the gold medal in the women's 200-meter butterfly at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. I ...

. She trained under Bernie Wakefield until 1994, then Scott Volkers at the Commercial Swimming Club in Brisbane.

Post swimming career

O'Neill is an ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation. She provided commentary at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

in Melbourne for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. She was the Oceania athletes' representative on the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

from 2000 to 2005. When she resigned her membership she was replaced by

Barbara Kendall Barbara Anne Kendall (born 30 August 1967) is a former boardsailor from New Zealand. She competed at five Summer Olympic Games and won gold, silver and bronze medals. Biography Kendall was born in Papakura on 30 August 1967, the daughter o ...

. On 10 March 2007 during the 12th FINA World Championship, O'Neill was honoured by the dedication of the temporary swimming pool in the

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament of ...

in Melbourne named after her for the duration of the competition. In 2015, O'Neill made regular appearances on ''Ash, Kip & Luttsy'' for several years before officially joining the team in 2019, at which point the show was renamed '' Ash, Luttsy & Susie''. She continued as a co-host until November 2024. In 2025, O'Neill will remain with

NOVA Entertainment NOVA Entertainment is an Australian entertainment company that operates commercial radio networks (and associated digital brands) in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. NOVA Entertainment is owned by Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria Pty Lt ...

, working on shows across the Nova Network as a guest presenter for both Breakfast and National shows next year. On 14 February 2018, O'Neill released a single entitled "My Heart Goes Boom". In May 2019, O'Neill was announced as Australia's joint Deputy Chef de Mission for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, with fellow Olympians,

Evelyn Halls Evelyn Halls (born 18 August 1972) is an Australian fencer. She competed in the women's individual épée events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and offici ...

and Kim Brennan.

Honours and awards

* 1996 – awarded the World Trophy for Australasia. * 1996 – joint winner with Jackie Gallagher of the Australian Sport Awards Female Athlete of the Year * 1997 – Australian Day Honours, O'Neill was awarded the

Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an Australian 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 then ...

() "for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Atlanta Olympic Games, 1996." * 1998 – awarded the Australian Sport Awards Female Athlete of the Year * 1998 – was named Favourite Female Sports Star at the 1998 and the 1999 Australian People's Choice Awards. * 14 July 2000 – 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, off ...

for "her significant contribution as a competitor in swimming". * 2000 – the

State Transit Authority The State Transit Authority of New South Wales, also referred to as State Transit, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales operating bus services in Sydney. Superseding the Urban Transit Authority in 1989, it was also responsible for ...

named a SuperCat ferry after O'Neill. * 2000 – At the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, she was elected to the

Athletes' Commission by competitors at the 2000 Games, but family obligations caused her to resign in 2005. * 1 January 2001 – awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

"For service to the community through health". * 5 December 2002 – 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 Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

. * 2009 – inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. * 10 June 2009 - as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia ...

celebrations, O'Neill was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland Queensland ...

of Queensland for her role as a "sports legend". * 2012 – elevated to become Sport Australia Hall of Fame's 34th Legend of Australian Sport. * 2018 – appointed Member of the Order of Australia () in Australia Day Honours "For significant service to swimming at the elite level, as a mentor and role model, and to the community through support for charitable organisations." * 2023 - Inducted into

Swimming Australia Hall of Fame The Swimming Australia Hall of Fame was established in 2022 by Swimming Australia "to both recognise and celebrate those athletes and coaches who have left an indelible mark on the sport at the international level." The inaugural inductees were Fr ...

Personal life

O'Neill married Cliff Fairley, who works as an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, in 1998. They have two children.

Philanthropy

O'Neill and her husband, Cliff Fairley, help generously to raise awareness for the Fred Hollows Foundation, and are one of its most distinguished ambassadors. The Fred Hollows Foundation is an international

nonprofit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that educates surgeons on how to cure avoidable

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

within underserved communities and countries.

References

External links

* *
Olympic Swimmer Susie O'Neill
– ABC Queensland (Australian Broadcasting Corporation website)
Susie O'Neill – Elite Sports Properties
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Susie 1973 births Living people Australian Swimmers of the Year Commercial Swimming Club swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Australian female freestyle swimmers Australian female butterfly swimmers World record setters in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Australian International Olympic Committee members Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists for Australia Olympic swimmers for Australia People educated at Lourdes Hill College Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportswomen from Queensland Swimmers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Swimmers from Brisbane Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Members of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian sportswomen Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games