Dual Olympian and Gold Medalist
Originally diagnosed as a asthmatic and that swimming would be good for his health.
Mark Tonelli became one of Australia’s most versatile swimming all rounders ever by winning a record 10 Australian Championships in three different strokes – freestyle, butterfly and backstroke.
He represented Australia in the pool on the International scene for seven years (1973-1980) making his national team debut as a 16 year old competing in the Belgrade World Championships where he placed 6th in the 200m Backstroke along the way breaking the Commonwealth record… later adding the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle records.
Mark won his first major international gold medal while in his second last year as a school boy at St. Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace, winning the 100m Backstroke at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games plus two silver medals in the 200m Backstroke and Medley Relay.
Mark is credited as the first Australian to break the magical minute barrier for the 100m Backstroke.
The following year he was narrowly beaten by 2/10ths of second winning a silver medal in the 200m Backstroke at the Cali World Championships. He was on his way to taking up a scholarship at the University of Alabama where he graduated cum laude majoring in Communications, won many NCAA medals, was honoured as a four-year double All American and became only the second Australian (behind Murray Rose) to win a US Open Championship.
Although he made finals as a 14 year old at his first Olympic Trials for Munich, Mark competed at his first Olympics in Montreal where he raced in the 100m and 200m Backstroke finals with a top placed finish of 4th in the 200m event.
He was appointed Captain of the Australian Swimming Team in 1978 and honoured after his second Olympics by Sport Australia as Captain of the Australian Team of the Year.
It was a fitting reward for his leadership before and during the Moscow Olympics where he won his most famous Gold Medal as the Butterflyer on the 4×100 Medley Relay.
That race having been immortalised by Norman May’s inspiring “Gold! Gold! Gold!” commentary.