Susie O'Neill

Susie O'Neill
Personal information
Full name Susan O'Neill
Nickname(s) "Madame Butterfly"[1]
National team  Australia
Born (1973-08-02) 2 August 1973
Mackay, Queensland
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Butterfly, freestyle
Club Commercial Swimming Club

Susan O'Neill, OAM (born 2 August 1973) is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career.

Early life

Susan (Susie) O'Neill was born on 2 August 1973 in Mackay, Queensland to mother, Trish and father, John. She has two siblings, a brother and a sister. Her family moved to Brisbane and she was educated at Lourdes Hill College (LHC) in Hawthorne.[2] 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.[2]

Swimming Career

O'Neill won the 200 m butterfly at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 200 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[2] She won 35 Australian titles and holds the Australian women's record for the most Olympic medals (eight), with Dawn Fraser, Leisel Jones and Petria Thomas.[3]

After winning a gold and a silver medal in her first attendance at a competition at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, O'Neill never failed to win a medal at any international meet she attended, right up until her final Olympics in front of a home crowd in Australia. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Trials, she broke the 19-year-old world record of another "Madame Butterfly", Mary T. Meagher, in the 200m butterfly, but was beaten at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games by American Misty Hyman, in an upset.

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.[3] She is also ambassador for companies such as SAAB and Kellogg's, and has her own line of swimsuits that is sold in Target stores throughout Australia.[4]

She commentated at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She was the Oceania athletes' representative on the International Olympic Committee from 2000 to 2005, when she resigned her membership (and was replaced by Barbara Kendall). [5]

On 10 March 2007, O'Neill was honoured by having the temporary swimming pool in the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne named after her for the duration of the 12th FINA World Championships, the site of the swimming events.

O'Neill makes regular appearances on Nova 106.9's breakfast radio show Ash, Kip & Luttsy.

Honours and awards

Personal life

Susie O'Neill married Cliff Fairley, who works as an ophthalmologist, in 1998. They have two children, Alix (daughter) and William (son).

See also

References

  1. "Susie O'Neill". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Role model for women". The Catholic Leader (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane). 27 March 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  3. Statement by Susie O'Neill, as published in The Australian Women's Weekly
  4. Susan O'Neill - World Fastest, Australia's Best
  5. "AOC Office Bearers and Australian IOC Members". Australian Olympic Committee website. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Australian Sport Awards". Confederation of Australian Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  7. "Susan O'Neill OAM". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  8. Zuk, T. "1998 People's Choice Awards". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  9. Zuk, T. "1999 People's Choice Awards". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  10. "Susan O'Neill". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  11. Gordon, Harry. "Susie O'Neill". Australian Olympic Committee website. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  12. "Susie O'Neill". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  13. 1 2 "Susan O'Neill OAM - Swimming". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  14. "Ms Susan O'Neill OAM". Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. qsport.org.au. Retrieved 20 January 2014.

External links


Records
Preceded by
Mary T. Meagher
Women's 200 metre butterfly
world record holder (long course)

17 May 2000 4 August 2002
Succeeded by
Otylia Jędrzejczak
Preceded by
Incumbent
Women's 200 metre butterfly
world record holder (short course)

17 February 1999 18 January 2004
Succeeded by
Yang Yu
Awards
Preceded by
Incumbent
Swimming World
World Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year

1995
Succeeded by
Le Jingyi
Preceded by
Samantha Riley
Swimming World
Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year

1998 2000
Succeeded by
Petria Thomas


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