Gary Chapman (swimmer)

Gary Arthur Chapman (17 September 1937 - 23 September 1978) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s who won a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Although he had set a world record in the 220yd freestyle, he was surprisingly omitted from the 4x200m freestyle relay team which won the gold medal.

Born in Brighton-Le-Sands, Sydney, Chapman first came to prominence in the 1952 Australian Championships, at the age of 14, when he cut 2.9s off the 440 yd freestyle Australian record. In 1954, he sliced 12.8s off the 880 yd record in qualifying for the Australian team at the 1954 Empire Games in Vancouver, where he won gold in the 440 yd freestyle and bronze in the 1650 yd freestyle. He also claimed gold in the 4×220 yd freestyle relay. In his era, the 220 and 880 yd freestyle was not contested as individual events.

Due to the rise of fellow Australian Murray Rose in distance freestyle swimming, Chapman switched to competing in the 110 yd and 220 yd freestyle events in a bid to increase his chances of success at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Prior to the games, he defeated team-mate Jon Henricks twice in the 220 yd freestyle, setting a world record on one of those occasions.

Due to the 200 m freestyle not being an Olympic event, Chapman was forced to concentrate on the 100 m freestyle. He won the bronze medal in 100 m freestyle, finishing behind Henricks and another Australian, John Devitt. As the 220 yd freestyle world record, Chapman was snubbed by the selectors in the 4×200 m freestyle relay, only swimming in the qualifying heats, but being replaced by Kevin O'Halloran in the final, where the Australians won the gold medal in a world record time. Under the rules of the time, heat swimmers were not entitled to gold medals.

Chapman continued in the sport despite this until the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff, where he was edged out for gold in the 110 yd freestyle by Devitt, and managed to come only fifth in the 440 yd freestyle behind fellow Australian John Konrads. Chapman collected a gold in the 4×220 yd freestyle relay.

Chapman retired after the 1958 Games. In 1978 he and a friend died after a boat belonging to him capsized near Little Bay, New South Wales, in the south of Sydney. Their bodies were never recovered.

External links

* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130447b.htm Australian Dictionary of Biography]

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