Shane Gould facts for kids
Gould in 1973
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 23 November 1956 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Neil Innes (1974) Milton Nelms (2007) |
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, medley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Forbes Carlile Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Forbes Carlisle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Shane Elizabeth Gould (born 23 November 1956) is a famous Australian former swimmer. She became a swimming superstar at the 1972 Summer Olympics. There, she won three gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal. She was the first woman swimmer to win five individual medals at a single Olympics.
After her amazing Olympic wins, Shane was named the Australian of the Year. This is a special award given to someone who has done great things for Australia. She also received an award called an MBE in 1983. In 2018, she received an Order of Merit from the Australian Olympic Committee.
Shane spent most of her childhood in Fiji after her family moved there. Later in life, she returned to swimming as a mentor and competitor. In 2018, she won the TV show Australian Survivor, becoming the oldest person to win any Survivor show. She wrote a book about her life called Tumble Turns in 1999.
Contents
Early Life and School
Shane Gould was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This was on the very first day of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. When she was about 18 months old, her family moved to Fiji. By the time she was six, she was already a very good swimmer.
She went to primary school at St. Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane. This school is known for its excellent swim program in Australia. A sports house at the school is named after her. For high school, she attended Turramurra High School in Sydney. Another sports house there is named after her and fellow Olympian Gail Neall.
For a few months in 1973, Shane went to St. Francis High School in California, USA. While there, she was coached by a famous coach named Nort Thornton.
How Shane Was Coached
Shane was trained by top coaches Ursula and Forbes Carlile. Forbes Carlile was an Olympic coach for Australia. He was a leader in using science to train athletes. He used special methods like timing workouts and checking heart rates. He also helped swimmers prepare by slowly reducing their training before big competitions. This method is called "tapering."
Carlile helped develop the "crawl stroke," which is how most people swim freestyle today. He focused on a fast kick and strong arm movements. Shane learned this technique, which helped her become a world champion.
Shane's Swimming Career
1972 Munich Olympics Achievements
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At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Shane Gould was incredible. She won three gold medals. These were for the 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle, and 200-meter individual medley. She set a new world record in each of these races!
She also won a silver medal in the 800-meter freestyle. And she earned a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle.
Shane is the only person ever to hold every world freestyle record at the same time. This included distances from 100 meters to 1500 meters. She also held the 200-meter individual medley world record at the same time. She held all these records from December 1971 to September 1972.
She was the first female swimmer to win three Olympic gold medals while setting new world records. She was also the first swimmer, male or female, to win Olympic medals in five different individual events at one Olympics. Shane is also the only Australian to win three individual gold medals at a single Olympic Games.
After the 1972 Olympics, at just 16 years old, Shane decided to stop competitive swimming. She felt a lot of pressure from her success and being famous.
Return to Swimming
More than 20 years later, Shane returned to swimming at the Masters level. This is for older swimmers who still compete. She set new Australian Masters records in different freestyle and butterfly events. In 2003, she even broke a world record for her age group (45-49 years) in the 200-meter individual medley. Her time was faster than the world record for all ages set in 1961!
Today, Shane still coaches swimmers and competes in Masters events.
Later Career Highlights
Education and Studies
Shane went back to school in the late 2000s. She studied filmmaking and earned a certificate in documentary film. She also earned two master's degrees from the University of Tasmania. One was in Environmental Management, where she studied public swimming pools. The other was in Contemporary Art, where she created a video artwork. In 2019, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from Victoria University.
Olympic Torch Bearer
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Shane had a special role. She was one of the people who carried the Olympic Torch into the stadium. This happened just before the Olympic Flame was lit.
Photography
Shane is also a photographer. Her work has been shown with the Art of the Olympians. This group features art by Olympic athletes.
Her Autobiography
In 1999, Shane published her autobiography. It is called Tumble Turns: An Autobiography. An autobiography is a book someone writes about their own life.
Australian Survivor Champion
In August 2018, Shane took part in the TV show Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders. She was part of the "Champions" team. On October 9, 2018, Shane was crowned the winner of the show! She won by a vote of 5-4 against Sharn Coombes. With this win, Shane became the oldest person ever to win any Survivor series around the world.
She later returned for Australian Survivor: All Stars. However, she was the first person voted out in that season.
Personal Life
After she stopped competitive swimming, Shane lived a quiet life away from the public. She married Neil Innes when she was 18. They lived on a farm near Margaret River in Western Australia. She farmed and taught horse riding and surfing. She has four children and three grandchildren.
Her marriage to Neil ended after 22 years. She later married Milton Nelms in 2007.
Honours and Awards
- Best Sportswoman in the World (1971)
- ABC Sportswoman of the Year (1971)
- ABC Sportswoman of the Year (1972)
- Australian of the Year (1972)
- International Swimming Hall of Fame "Honor Swimmer" (1977)
- Member of the Order of the British Empire (1981)
- Sport Australia Hall of Fame (1985)
- Olympic Order (1994)
- Olympic Torch bearer (2000)
- Australian Sports Medal (2000)
- Centenary Medal (2001)
- Sole Survivor (2018) Australian Survivor Champions Vs. Contenders
- Swimming Australia Hall of Fame (2022) - one of the first people to be included.
In 1993, a RiverCat ferry was named after Shane Gould. These ferries travel on the rivers around Sydney.
Images for kids
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Gould in 1973
See also
In Spanish: Shane Gould para niños
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
- World record progression 100 metres freestyle
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
- World record progression 200 metres individual medley
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
- World record progression 800 metres freestyle
- World record progression 1500 metres freestyle
