- Robert Cusack
Robert Cusack (born 10 December 1950) was an Australian butterfly and freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s, who won a bronze medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Born in
Maryborough, Queensland his uncle wasArthur Cusack , the coach of double Olympic backstroke championDavid Theile who also came fromMaryborough, Queensland . Cusack combined withMichael Wenden ,Bob Windle andGreg Rogers to win bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay, behind theUnited States and theSoviet Union . He also competed in the medley relay, missing bronze by 0.1s, the 100m butterfly, finishing eighth in the final and the 200m butterfly being eliminated in the heats.He first started competitive swimming at age 9 coached by his father Robert Cusack and then later during his summer vacations he would travel to Brisbane to train with his uncle
Arthur Cusack at theCentenary Pool, Brisbane where his uncle was the lessee of the pool. His uncle went on to coach him into the Australian Olympic team for the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. , [ Condon, Matt (2004-02-26), "Life as a fifty meter sprint: Robert Cusack", "Courier Mail Newspaper", Brisbane ]He recalled these days training with his uncle in an interview in 2004, [ Condon, Matt (2004-02-26), "Life as a fifty meter sprint: Robert Cusack", "Courier Mail Newspaper", Brisbane ] " We'd train seven miles a day, three sessions a day all through the holidays. Then at night time we'd get into the diving pools and search the bottom for any loose change."
He later went onto become a professional coach commencing at the Indooroopilly Swimming Club in 1977 and continues to coach at the same club. He has trained numerous State and National swimmers from the club including his own son
Simon Cusack who was an Australian National Age Finalist. Simon is head performance coach at Indooroopilly alongside his father who is Director of Coaching. [ [http://www.indooroopillyswimming.org.au Indooroopilly Swimming Club Inc] , Coaches (accessed 2008-01-11)] Simon is the current coach of Australian Swimming Team swimmersCate Campbell and triple olympic gold medalistJodie Henry . [ Swimming Australia Ltd [http://www.swimming.org.au/News/Latest%20News.aspx?nwid=%7B32BEF2BB-DFFE-4B9B-B808-2BB196F79F47%7D] ,(2007-11-10) Latest news, "Thompson backs homesick henry" (accessed 2008-01-11)]In 2004 in honour of his dedication and commitment to swimming, the community bestowed the honour of naming the swimming pool at Indooroopily after Robert Cusack. [ [http://www.indooroopillyswimming.org.au Indooroopilly Swimming Club Inc] , Coaches (accessed 2008-01-11)]
References
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External links
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* [http://www.indooroopillyswimming.org.au/ Indooroopilly Swimming Club Inc]
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