- John Konrads
John Konrads (Latvian: "Jānis Konrāds"; born 21 May 1942 in
Riga ,Latvia ) was anAustralia n freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the1960 Summer Olympics inRome . In his career, he set 26 individual world records, and after his swimming career ended, was theAustralasia n director ofL'Oreal , as well as campaigning for the Sydney Olympics bid. Along with his sisterIlsa Konrads , who also set multiple world records, they were known as the "Konrad Kids".Early life
Born in
Riga ,Latvia , Konrads emigrated with his parents Janis and Elza, grandmother, elder sister Eve and younger sister Ilsa in August 1944, initially staying in Germany.cite news |first= Ilsa |last= Konrads |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Guiding light at the poolside: Elza Konrads: Modest matriarch of swim stars' family (1904-2004) |url= |work= |publisher="The Sydney Morning Herald " |date=14 August-15, 19232004 |accessdate= ] This came after occupation of Latvia by German troops during theSecond World War and then re-occupation by Soviet troops. Living inGermany until 1949, their application to immigrate to theUnited States was refused on account of the large size of the family. Instead, Australia accepted them. They were first located at Greta migrants' camp near Maitland and then were relocated to a camp at Uranquinty, in rural westernNew South Wales , at what had been a base for theRoyal Australian Air Force . There his father Janis taught the children to swim, fearing that they could drown in the many watering holes and dams in the camp. After spending four weeks in hospital due to apolio contraction, Konrads swam therapeutically to rebuild strength.His father Janis secured a job in
Sydney as adentist , and the family settled first in Pennant Hills and then Bankstown. Elza enrolled in theUniversity of Sydney 's dentistry program, as her qualification from theUniversity of Riga was not recognized, but withdrew due to the demands of raising three children. Konrads and his siblings attendedRevesby Primary School , where one of the schoolteachers wasDon Talbot . Talbot was an assistant toFrank Guthrie as the Bankstown Swimming Pool. Konrads joined the club in the 1953-1954 season, winning the junior 880yd freestyle. His first national title came in 1956, winning the junior 440yd freestyle. This led to Konrads being selected for the team to attend the1956 Summer Olympics inMelbourne , although as a reserve he did not compete in any form.Every day, John and his younger sister Ilsa cycled to the Bankstown pool before sunrise, for a two-hour training session, before returning home for breakfast and then attending school. After school, they would cycle back to the pool and repeat the training regimen. In 1958, the results of his training began to materialize, when he started to win his first national titles and break his first world records. In
Sydney in January, in the space of eight days, he broke world records in the 200 m, 220yd, 400 m, 440yd, 800 m and 800yd, for a total of six world records. He set another eight in February and March, including a 1500 m and 1650yd world record, and proceeded to win the 220yd, 440yd and 1650yd freestyle at the Australian Championships. At the 1958 Empire Games inCardiff , he won the 440yd and 1650yd and then combined withJohn Devitt , Gary Chapman andBrian Wilkinson to claim the 4x220yd freestyle. In 1959 he broke six world records in the same six events as he did in January the previous year, and was the first person to sweep the freestyle events from 110yd to 1650yd at the Australian Championships, winning theHelms Award . He decided in conjunction with Talbot to concentrate on the 400 m and 1500 m events for the Olympics, and in 1960, at the Australian championships, set world records in the 400 m, 440yd, 1500 m and 1650yd events. He also won the 220yd event in world record time, but it was not an Olympic event at the time.Rome Olympics and beyond
At the Olympics in Rome, fellow Australian and defending 400 m and 1500 m champion
Murray Rose had returned from theUnited States to compete, and qualified fastest for the 400 m final, although well outside Konrads' mark. Konrads held the lead in the final until the halfway mark, when Rose attacked and Konrads deviated from his raceplan. Rose went on to win in 4 m 18.3s while Konrads was third in 4 m 21.8s, well outside his world record of 4 m 15.9s. In the 1500 m final, Konrads qualified second as Rose set an Olympic record in the final. AlthoughGeorge Breen of the United States had attacked early, Konrads stuck to his raceplan and overhauled him to win in an Olympic record time of 17 m 19.6s, with Rose second. In the 4x200 m freestyle relay, Konrads combined with Devitt, Rose and David Dickson to claim a bronze medal behind the United States andJapan . The Australians had set a world record in training prior to the Olympics, but withoutJon Henricks , who withdrew due to illness, they were not able to keep pace with the Americans who reclaimed the world record.After the games, Konrads accepted a swimming scholarship at the
University of Southern California , where his performances decreased over time. Upon returning to Australia to qualify for the1964 Summer Olympics , he managed only qualification for the 4x200 m freestyle relay team. He only swam in the heats, and watched from the stands as another Australian,Bob Windle , claimed his 1500 m title. After retirement, Konrads became a swimming coach, and with his marketing degree from USC, Konrads eventually rose to the Australasian directorship ofL'Oreal . He later established a consultancy and advertising firm. He has also publicly revealed his struggles with Bipolar Disorder, and sought to raise public awareness with features on Australian television [ [http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2006/s1542535.htm 7.30 Report - 05/01/2006: Rogers death highlights depression stigma ] ] and print [ [http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=271365 The Bulletin publishes for the last time ] ] .See also
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World record progression 1500 metres freestyle Notes
References
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*External links
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