Terry Gathercole

Born in Tallimba, New South Wales. He grew up in West Wyalong, New South Wales where he lived throughout his school years. In 1957, he married Carol Fraser and they had three children – Gai, Ben and Tim. He died in 2001 because of heart problems, an illness which he had carried for 15 years after requiring open-heart surgery. A public memorial service at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, where he coached, was attended by Prime Minister John Howard and several federal cabinet ministers. ==Swimming career==

Gathercole swam for the West Wyalong Swimming Club and received coaching advice through the mail from Forbes Carlile. Gathercole first came to prominence in the 1954 Australian Championships, when he won the first of his ten Australian Championships. He made his international debut at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, contesting the 200-metre breaststroke, at the first Olympics in which the butterfly stroke was separated from breaststroke swimming. He finished fourth in the final, just 0.1 of a second behind the bronze medalist Charis Yunichev of the Soviet Union. He was coached by Forbes Carlile after moving to Sydney. Gathercole reached the peak of his swimming career in 1958 when he set the world record for the 200-metre breaststroke at the Tobruk Pool in Townsville, Queensland. He held this world record for over three years. In the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales, he won the 220-yard breaststroke and combined with John Monckton, John Devitt and Brian Wilkinson to claim the 4x110-yard medley relay. Gathercole's final appearance on the international arena as a swimmer was at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where he won his semifinal of the 200-metre breaststroke. However, in the final he only managed sixth, almost three seconds behind Bill Mulliken of the United States. Gathercole then combined with David Theile, Neville Hayes and Geoff Shipton to claim silver in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, again behind the Americans. Gathercole had at various times in his career held the world record in the 200-metre, and national records in the 110- and 220-yard breaststroke. ==Coaching career==

Gathercole then became a coach, beginning as an assistant to Forbes Carlile. In December 1960, he became a full-time professional coach and built an indoor short course pool in Castle Cove, New South Wales, a northern suburb of Sydney. He served as a coach for the national team for 28 years until his retirement in 1992. Major national team coaching appointments: • Olympic Games – 1964 Rome, 1976 Montreal, and 1992 Barcelona • World Long Course Championships – 1975 Columbia and 1991 Perth • Commonwealth Games – 1966 Kingston ==Administration career==

He was elected vice president of Australian Swimming from 1992 to 1996 and president from 1997–2000. ==Recognition==

• 1981– Australian Coach of the Year • 1987 – Life member of the Australian Swim Coaches Association • 1991 – Australian Coaching Council's Individual Coach of the Year. • 1999 – inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame ==See also==