Jon Henricks

Last updated

Jon Henricks
Jon Henricks Cropped.jpg
Personal information
Full nameJohn Malcolm Henricks
Nickname"Jon"
National teamFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Born (1935-06-06) 6 June 1935 (age 88)
Sydney, New South Wales
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes Freestyle
College team University of Southern California
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing Australia
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1956 Melbourne 100 m freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1956 Melbourne 4×200 m freestyle
British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1954 Vancouver 110 yd freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1954 Vancouver 4×220 yd freestyle
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1954 Vancouver 3×110 yd medley

John Malcolm Henricks (born 6 June 1935) is an Australian Olympic swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Henricks set world records in two freestyle events.

Contents

Career

Henricks began his competitive swimming career as a distance freestyle swimmer. He scored his first notable successes at the 1952 Australian national championships, when he came third in the 1500 metres, second in the 800 metres, and first in the 400 metres. A prolonged ear infection kept him off the 1952 Australian Olympic team. His coach Harry Gallagher converted him to sprint freestyle events, and he bettered the Olympic record for 100 metres at the 1953 Australian national championships. He held the 100 metres long-course world record for five years, winning gold medals in the 100 metres and 4×200-metre freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. During those five years, he lowered the pre-existing record by almost two seconds.

During that time, he won ten Australian individual championships in those events, two British Empire Games medals and establishing new records in 1954, the Japanese Nationals, the Keo Nakama meet in Hawaii, the Philippine Nationals, and broke two American records while on a visit in 1954. He was named Australian Athlete of the Year by the Helms Hall of Fame in 1955. In 1958, he won the American outdoor national championships in the 100 and 200 metres.

After the 1956 Olympics, Henricks enrolled in the University of Southern California (USC), where he was a member of the USC Trojans swimming team. As a freshman at USC, he teamed with Murray Rose, Don Reddington, Tom Winters and Denis Devine, a five-man freshman team that broke the New Haven Swim Club's dynastic grasp on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) indoor championships. The USC freshman team grew into a collegiate powerhouse in the late 1950s and 1960s, dominating the Pacific-8 Conference, winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) team championship in 1960, and laying the groundwork for greater success.

In 1960 Henricks made another attempt at the Olympics, winning the Australian trials handily. Henricks contracted a gastrointestinal ailment at the Olympics in Rome and was eliminated in Semi Final 2, finishing fourth. Australian John Devitt and American Lance Larson were left to contend. Both were teammates; Larson on his USC team, Devitt on his Australian team.

Personal life

Henricks married an American girl, Bonnie Wilkie, sister of his USC teammate Mike Wilkie, in 1960. The Australian and American Olympic swim teams attended the wedding, which produced a photograph of Olympic rivals Larson and Devitt hugging each other. [1] Henricks attended Fort Street Boys' High School in Petersham, NSW.

Achievements

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Jon Henricks (AUS)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  2. "Jon Henricks". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowdy Gaines</span> American swimmer

Ambrose "Rowdy" Gaines IV is an American former competitive swimmer, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is a swimming analyst for television network NBC. He has covered swimming at the Olympic Games since 1992 in Barcelona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Klim</span> Australian swimmer

Michael George Klim, OAM is a Polish-born Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, and former world record-holder of the 1990s and 2000s. He is known as the creator of straight arm freestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Heath (swimmer)</span> American swimmer

Michael Steward Heath is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a former world record-holder in two relay swimming events. A native of Texas, he won two national collegiate championship competing for the University of Florida. During his elite swimming career, Heath won ten medals in major international championships, including seven golds, two silvers and a bronze, spanning the Olympic Games, FINA World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Schollander</span> American swimmer

Donald Arthur Schollander is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in four events. He won a total of five gold medals and one silver medal at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. With four gold medals, he was the most successful athlete at the 1964 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.

David Gavin Dickson is an Australian freestyle swimmer who won three bronze medals in freestyle and medley relay events at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Rome and Tokyo respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Devitt</span> Australian swimmer (1937–2023)

John Thomas Devitt, AM was an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won in controversial circumstances, being awarded the gold medal despite the timekeepers recording a slower time than the American silver medallist Lance Larson. He also claimed a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.

Kevin O'Halloran was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s who won a gold medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.

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

bob 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">Gary Chapman (swimmer)</span> Australian swimmer

Gary Arthur Chapman was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s who won a bronze medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Although he had set a world record in the 220-yard freestyle, he was surprisingly omitted from the 4×200-metre freestyle relay team which won the gold medal.

Lindsay Dianne Benko, known by her married name Lindsay Mintenko since 2005, is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympian, former world record-holder, and a managing director of USA swimming. She represented the United States women as a Team Captain at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, taking a gold medal in freestyle relays both years. She held the short-course world record in the 400-meter freestyle at 3:59.53, for nearly three years from January 2003 to December 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Breen</span> American swimmer (1935–2019)

George Thomas Breen was an American Hall of Fame competition swimmer, four-time Olympic medalist in freestyle events, and world record-holder in three events. After retiring as a swimmer, he became a swim coach at the University of Pennsylvania and later the Jersey Wahoos Swim Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Furniss</span> American swimmer

Bruce MacFarlane Furniss is a former American amateur competition swimmer, Olympic double gold medalist, and ten-time world record-holder in four events. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, he won the Men's 200-meter Freestyle and was a member of the winning U.S. team in the Men's 4×200-meter Freestyle Relay, both in world record time. Furniss broke ten world and nineteen American records, and won eleven Amateur Athletic Union and six NCAA titles.

David Erwin Larson is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. Larson is a Georgia native who became an All-American college swimmer for the University of Florida. He was known for his success as a member of American relay teams in international competition at the Pan American Games and the Olympics – and for setting two world records in the 4×200-meter relay event on the same day at the 1984 Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Larson</span> American swimmer (1940–2024)

Lance Melvin Larson was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in four events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wally Wolf</span> American swimmer and water polo player

Wallace "Wally" Perry Wolf Jr. was an American attorney, bank director, competition swimmer, water polo player, and Olympic champion. He competed in the 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960 Summer Olympics.

Robert "Bobby" Hurley is an Australian swimmer and former World Record holder in the short-course 50 metres Backstroke and 2012 World Champion in the same event. In 2009 he won a bronze medal as a team member on the 4 × 200 m Freestyle relay at the FINA World Championships in Rome. He has five FINA World Championship medals to his name, two gold, one silver and two bronze.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle</span>

The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between August 26 and 27. There were 51 competitors from 34 nations. Nations were limited to two swimmers each, down from three in previous Games. The event was won by John Devitt of Australia over Lance Larson of the United States in a controversial, disputed finish that resulted in a push for electronic timing. It was Australia's second consecutive victory in the event, third-most all-time behind the United States' 7 gold medals and Hungary's 3. Devitt, silver medalist four years earlier, was the fifth man to win multiple medals in the event. Manuel dos Santos earned Brazil's first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle with his bronze.

Frank Heckl is an American former competition swimmer, seven-time Pan American Games medalist, and former world record-holder in two relay events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Guy (swimmer)</span> British swimmer (born 1995)

James George Guy is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in freestyle and butterfly. Guy has won multiple gold medals at each of the major international meets available to him, including for Great Britain at the Olympic Games (2), the World (5) and European Championships (7), and England in the Commonwealth Games (2). In addition to further medals in those events, he has also reached the podium at both the World and European short-course championships. With 45 major medals at international championship meets, 19 at global level, he is one of the most decorated swimmers in British history.

References