John Konrads and another swimmer in a pool at the US National Championships in Ohio 1963
Photographer: John Konrads
ANMM Collection
1960 Rome Olympic Games Participation Medal awarded to John Konrads
ANMM Collection
John Konrads (b 1942) was a Latvian immigrant who came to Australia with his family at age seven as a refugee after World War II. He and his sister Ilsa trained together with rising swimming coach Don Talbot. They eventually became teenage swimming sensations and poster children for the Australian Government’s ‘Beautiful Balts’ immigration campaign.
At 14 years of age, Konrads was selected as a reserve for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Labelled the ‘brilliant schoolboy champion’, newspapers and magazines closely followed the rising talent and his sister. The Australian Women’s Weekly reported that the ‘Konrads’ kids’ were on their way to becoming ‘the greatest swimmers in Australian history’. In 1958 and 1959, John claimed more than twenty world records in six events at distances from 200 to 1500 metres, including both the Australasian championships of 1957 and the Cardiff Empire Games in 1958. At the 1960 Rome Olympic Games he won a gold medal in the 1500 metre freestyle, and bronze medals in both the 400 metre freestyle and the 4×200 metre freestyle relay.
Dawn Fraser before her rise to fame 1956
Photographer: John Konrads
ANMM Collection
Linda McGill on her way to the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games
Photographer: John Konrads
ANMM Collection
Other photographs document Konrads’ time spent as a university student, along with fellow swimming greats Rose and Henricks, in the United States before the Tokyo Olympics. He photographed American Olympic champions such as Mike Troy and fellow college swimmer, Mike Wilkie.
These photographs capture aspects of the Olympics that are often restricted to a select few. Konrads’ intimate portraits of a range of Australian swimmers, many of whom went on to win Olympic medals, offer viewers a behind the scenes glimpse into the team’s preparation and sense of camaraderie. Konrads’ collection reveals something of the excitement surrounding not just Australia’s golden age of swimming, but also the hype surrounding Olympic athletes in general, something that continues to flourish to this day.
Nicole Cama
Curatorial assistant