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Don Talbot facts for kids

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Donald Malcolm Talbot AO, OBE (23 August 1933 – 3 November 2020) was a famous Australian swimming coach and sports leader. He helped national swimming teams in Canada, the United States, and Australia achieve great success.

Early Life and Learning

Donald Talbot was born on 23 August 1933 in Barnsley, New South Wales. He was one of six children. His parents were from England. When Donald was three, his father had an accident in the coal mines, which meant he couldn't work there anymore. His family then moved to Bankstown, a suburb of Sydney.

Donald had a scary experience with water when he was four years old, almost drowning. After this, his mother made sure he and his family learned how to swim.

He later became a competitive swimmer, coached by Frank Guthrie. Frank didn't charge Donald's family for lessons because they couldn't afford it. Donald won the New South Wales Under 14 backstroke championship and set a new record for the 165-yard individual medley in his age group. He went to Bankstown Primary School, Bankstown Technical School, and Homebush Boys High School. Even though he didn't pass his final high school exams, he got a scholarship to Wagga Wagga Teacher's College. After college, he taught physical education at Revesby General Primary School.

A Coaching Legend

Donald Talbot started his coaching career in 1956 while he was a young teacher. He worked with Frank Guthrie at the Bankstown Swimming Pool. There, he began coaching two young swimmers, a brother and sister named John Konrads and Ilsa Konrads. Under his guidance, both of them broke world records! John won gold medals at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, and Ilsa won a Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Other amazing Australian swimmers coached by Talbot in the 1960s and 1970s included Ian O'Brien, Bob Windle, Kevin Berry, Beverley Whitfield, and Gail Neall.

Coaching Around the World

In 1964, Talbot became the head coach for the Australian men's swimming team at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He held this role until 1972. After that, he moved to Canada because there wasn't enough money for swimming programs in Australia at the time. In Canada, he coached the Thunder Bay Thunderbolts Swim Club and the Canadian national swimming team. While there, he also studied psychology at Lakehead University.

He then spent two years coaching the United States team for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. However, the US decided not to send their athletes to those games.

Leading the Australian Institute of Sport

In 1980, Donald Talbot was chosen to be the very first Director of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). This was a big job! His main goals were to make sure the AIS got enough money from the Australian Government to support top athletes and to build world-class training places and services. He left the AIS in 1983 and went back to Canada.

Return to Australian Swimming

Talbot became the national head coach for Swimming Canada again, and many people believe he was key to their success in the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics.

In 1989, Talbot returned to Australia to become the National Head Coach for Swimming Australia. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, his coaching led to Australia's best swimming performance since the 1972 Olympics. Australia finished second to the US, winning five gold, nine silver, and four bronze medals. He retired as Australia's head coach after Australia won the most gold medals in swimming at the 2001 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka.

Donald Talbot was also very vocal about keeping sports fair and clean. He spoke out against the use of banned substances in swimming. After 2001, he continued to help top swimmers by offering his expert advice.

Personal Life

Donald Talbot was married three times. His first marriage lasted 22 years, and he had three daughters and a son: Christine, Leonie, Jon, and Lee. From 1973 to 1989, he was married to Jan Cameron, who was also a swimmer and coach. Their son, Scott Talbot-Cameron, is an Olympic swimmer and coach in New Zealand. Since 1990, he was married to Janet Henderson, a teacher from Canada.

In 2003, Talbot wrote a book about his life and career called Talbot: Nothing But The Best.

Donald Talbot passed away on 3 November 2020.

Awards and Recognition

Donald Talbot received many honors for his amazing contributions to swimming:

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