Tracey Wickham

Last updated

Tracey Wickham
MBE OAM
Tracey Wickham.jpg
Personal information
Full nameTracey Lee Wickham
Nickname(s)Tiger
National teamAustralia
Born (1962-11-24) 24 November 1962 (age 60)
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1978 Berlin 400 m freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1978 Berlin 800 m freestyle
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1978 Edmonton 400 m freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1978 Edmonton800 m freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1982 Brisbane 400 m freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1982 Brisbane800 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1978 Edmonton200 m freestyle
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1978 Edmonton4×100 m medley
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1982 Brisbane200 m freestyle
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1978 Edmonton4×100 m freestyle

Tracey Lee Wickham MBE , OAM (born 24 November 1962 in Rosebud, Victoria) is an Australian former middle distance swimmer. Wickham was the World Champion for the 400 m and 800 m freestyle in 1978, and won gold in both events at the 1978 and 1982 Commonwealth Games. She is a former world record holder for the 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m freestyle. [1] Despite her success in the pool, Wickham has battled hardship and personal tragedy throughout her life. [2]

Contents

Swimming career

Wickham began swimming at the age of eight at John Rigby's pool in Brisbane and mastered her technique under the guidance of Peter Diamond. At the age of thirteen, she was selected to be on the Australian team for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games but failed to reach the finals at that meet.

In 1977, Wickham's family moved to California, where she trained for six months with coaching legend Mark Schubert. She returned to Brisbane at the end of 1977 and she came under the guidance of coach Bill Sweetenham at the Commercial Swimming Club. On 8 February 1978, Wickham broke her first world record, the 1500 m freestyle, in a solo swim at the Fortitude Valley Pool in Brisbane, clocking 16:14.93.

At the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Wickham won both the 400 m and 800 m freestyle. That same year, she set world records in both events, and won both the 400 m and 800 m freestyle at the 1978 Berlin World Championships, setting a world 400 m record of 4.06.28, which stood as the Championship record until 2007. Both world records stood until 1987, long after her retirement.

In 1980, Australia decided against an official boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. A number of Australian athletes elected to boycott the Games personally. Wickham maintains that she withdrew from the team because of illness, as she was suffering glandular fever at the time, not because of the boycott. [3] The 800 m freestyle was won by fellow Australian Michelle Ford at that meet.

Wickham retired at the end of 1979 due to financial problems. The policy of amateurism was upheld by the Amateur Swimming Union of Australia during this period, meaning Wickham could neither earn money from the sport nor receive any prizes. Wickham returned to swimming in the early 1980s under coach Laurie Lawrence. She won gold in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, where she took the Athletes Oath at the Opening Ceremony. Her gold medal for the 400 m was presented to her by Queen Elizabeth II and Wickham retired from swimming immediately afterwards. Following the birth of her daughter, Wickham dived back into the water in May 1990, again with Lawrence as her coach, that year completing the 7.6 km open water race from Magnetic Island to Townsville, placing first in the female division. [4] She also won the female division of the Lake Trasimeno 20 km marathon race. She retired for good following the birth of her son in January 1992.

Personal life

She was educated at the All Hallows' School, in Brisbane along with her sisters Julie and Kelly. [5] Wickham married in 1986 and had two children, Daniel and Hannah. She divorced her husband in the mid-1990s.

Her daughter, Hannah, died at the age of nineteen from synovial sarcoma on 2 October 2007. [6] Wickham is an ambassador for Hannah's Chance Foundation, which supports teenage cancer victims. [7]

Honours and awards

On 30 December 1978, Wickham was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire. [8]

On 10 December 1985, she was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, [1] and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame at Fort Lauderdale in 1992. [9]

On 25 October 2000, she was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for outstanding contribution as a competitor in swimming. [10]

On 13 June 2005, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to Australian swimming and to the development of young swimmers through teaching and coaching roles. [11]

Swimming achievements

Book

See also

Related Research Articles

Kieren John Perkins, OAM is a former Australian freestyle swimmer. He specialised in the 1500-metre freestyle and won successive Olympic gold medals in this event in the 1990s. He won his first at the 1992 Olympics which he won in world record time and then at the 1996 Olympics when he defended his title. In total he won four Olympic medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Gould</span> Australian swimmer

Shane Elizabeth Gould is an Australian former competition swimmer. She won three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze, at the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 2018, she won the fifth season of Australian Survivor, becoming the oldest winner of any Survivor franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayley Lewis</span> Australian swimmer

Hayley Jane Lewis, OAM, is an Australian former competitive swimmer best known for winning five gold medals and one bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games as a 15-year-old.

Duncan John D'Arcy Armstrong is an Australian former competitive swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Armstrong is best remembered for winning a gold and silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorraine Crapp</span> Australian swimmer

Lorraine Joyce Thurlow,, née Crapp, is a former Olympic swimming champion representing Australia. In world swimming history, Crapp earned a place as the first woman to break the five-minute barrier in the 400 m freestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Rice</span> Australian swimmer

Stephanie Louise Rice, OAM is an Australian former competitive swimmer. She won three gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2009.

Gail Neall, also known by her married name Gail Yeo, is an Australian former medley swimmer who raced in the 1970s. She won a gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 1972 Summer Olympics in world record time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Moras</span> Australian swimmer

Karen Lynne Moras, also known by her married name Karen Stephenson, is an Australian distance freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 400-metre freestyle at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Although she set multiple world records she peaked between Olympics and was unable to capture gold at Olympic level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Cooper</span> Australian swimmer

Bradford Paul Cooper is an Australian former freestyle and backstroke swimmer of the 1970s, who won a gold medal in the 400 m freestyle at the 1972 Summer Olympics. In that race he originally finished second by the smallest margin ever to decide an Olympic swimming final, but was later awarded the gold medal after the victor, American Rick DeMont, an asthmatic, was disqualified after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substance ephedrine contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax.

Michelle Jan Ford is an Australian former long-distance freestyle and butterfly swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold medal in the 800-metre freestyle, bronze in the 200-metre butterfly, and 4th in the 400-metres freestyle at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She was the only non-Soviet bloc female swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the 1980 games. She also set two world records in her career, and was the first Australian woman to win individual Olympic medals in two distinct specialised strokes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Konrads</span> Australian swimmer (1942–2021)

John Konrads was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world records, and after his swimming career ended, was the Australasian director of L'Oréal, as well as campaigning for the Sydney Olympics bid. Along with his sister Ilsa, who also set multiple world records, they were known as the Konrads Kids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilsa Konrads</span> Australian swimmer

Ilsa Konrads is an Australian former freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics. In her career, she set 13 individual world records, and after her swimming career ended, was the Australasian editor of Belle magazine. Along with her brother John Konrads, who also set multiple world records, and won gold in the 1500-metre freestyle, they were known as the Konrad Kids.

Sarah Lucy Hardcastle, also known by her married name Sarah Thomas, is a British former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics, world championships and European championships, and swam for England in the Commonwealth Games. She specialised in the 400- and 800-metre freestyle, and also competed in medley races. Hardcastle won multiple major championship medals over the course of her career, including individual silver and bronze medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 and two individual gold medals at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. She retired from the sport in 1986 but returned in 1993, winning gold at the World Short Course Championships for the 800-metre freestyle in 1995 and reaching the final of the same event at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Laurie Joseph Lawrence is an Australian swimming coach. He was also an Australia national rugby union team member in 1964.

Jennifer Louise Reilly is an Australian medley swimmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronte Barratt</span> Australian swimmer

Bronte Amelia Arnold Barratt, OAM is a retired Australian competitive swimmer and Olympic gold medallist.

Angela Denise Coughlan, O.Ont. was a Canadian competition swimmer. At the peak of her competitive swimming career from 1968 to 1971, she was the best Canadian female freestyle specialist, going undefeated in freestyle events at Canadian meets during that time, as well as breaking a world record and 13 Canadian national long course records. As a member of the Canadian national swim team, she anchored the 4x100-metre freestyle and 4x100-metre medley relay teams, and earned both individual and team relay medals at the 1967 Pan American Games, the 1968 Olympics, the 1970 Commonwealth Games and the 1971 Pan American Games. Named Canadian Female Athlete of the Year in 1970, she retired from competitive swimming in 1972 at the age of 19. Part of her post-competitive career was spent as a swim coach and mentor to younger swimmers. She was inducted into the Ontario Aquatic Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jazmin Carlin</span> British swimmer

Jazmin Roxy "Jazz" Carlin is a former British competitive swimmer, who previously represented Wales and the Great Britain swimming team. She competed primarily in endurance freestyle events, and was based at the University of Bath. She won gold for Wales at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, double gold for Great Britain in the 400 metres and 800 metres freestyle at both the 2014 European Championships and the 2015 European Championships before winning two silver medals for Great Britain in the same events behind Katie Ledecky at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Ariarne Elizabeth Titmus, is an Australian swimmer. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 200-metre and 400-metre freestyle, having won both events at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the former world record holder in the long course and short course 400-metre freestyle events. In 2019 and 2020, she competed representing the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League.

Lani Pallister is an Australian competitive swimmer. She is a world record holder in two sports, with a world record in swimming, the short course 4×200-metre freestyle relay, and world records in life saving for the youth age group in the 100-metre rescue medley and 200-metre super lifesaver. She holds the Oceanian, Commonwealth, and Australian records in the short course 1500-metre freestyle and the Australian record in the short course 800-metre freestyle. She is the first female World Short Course champion in the 1500-metre freestyle, winning the inaugural event for women at the 2022 edition. Over the course of the 2022 World Short Course Championships, she won the gold medal in each of the four events she contested.

References

  1. 1 2 "Tracey Wickham". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Treading Water: My Life in And Out of the Pool".
  3. ↑ Miller, Anne (2 May 2016). "Tracey Shares Her Triumphs And Sadness". South Burnett Online.
  4. ↑ "Successful solo race crossings 1954–2008". Magnetic Island to Townsville. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  5. ↑ Robson, Frank. (7 August 1999). "Cyclone Tracey". The Sydney Morning Herald , Australia. p27.
  6. ↑ Smith, Wayne (4 October 2007). "Tracey Wickham's daughter's dying wish". The Australian.
  7. ↑ "Hannah's Chance Foundation" . Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  8. ↑ "Tracey Wickham". Australian Honours Database. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
  9. ↑ "Tracey Wickham". International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  10. ↑ "Tracey Wickham". Australian Honours Database. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
  11. ↑ "Tracey Wickham". Australian Honours Database. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
Records
Preceded by Women's 1500 metres freestyle
world record holder (long course)
8 February 1978 – 19 August 1979		Succeeded by
Preceded by Women's 800 metres freestyle
world record holder (long course)
21 February 1978 – 27 July 1987		Succeeded by
Preceded by Women's 400 metres freestyle
world record holder (long course)
24 August 1978 – 20 December 1987		Succeeded by


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.