TitleMrs.
Name:Susie
Surname:O’ Neill
Nationality:AUS  Australia
Date of Birth:02/08/1973
Function:Athlete
 
Biography:
During her swimming career, Susie O'Neill was regarded as one of the world's best, a freestyle and butterfly specialist and a member of the Australian team for 12 years. She is the 1998 world champion in the 200m Butterfly and in May 2000 set a world record for that event. She is also the Olympic champion in the 200m Freestyle. She was born on 2 August 1973 in Mackay, a town in Australia's Queensland. She started swimming at the age of 8 and was first coached by Bernie Wakefield. Susie started with freestyle and at age 12, turned to backstroke. That same year, she won the Australian age title. She started butterfly when she was 14 and hasn't looked back since. She is now a swimmer in the famous Queensland Commercial Club and is coached by Scott Volkers, who also coaches breaststroker, Sam Riley. She joined Volker's squad after the World Championships in Rome 1994. In Atlanta '96, Susie proved to the rest of the world that she was up there with the best of them. She won a gold medal for the 200m butterfly, her favourite event, a silver in the 4x100m individual medley relay and a bronze in th 4x200m freestyle relay. Upon returning to Australia, she was given $57 000 from the Australian Olympic Committee's Medal Incentive Scheme, $45 000 from the AOC's Medal Reward Scheme, $51 000 from Telstra for her medals, and a $8 500 training grant from Australian Swimming Inc. Susie backed up her success in Atlanta with success in Perth during the 8th World Swimming Championships. Competing in 6 events, incluing relays, she won 4 medals (1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze). At the Australian Championships in 1998, she won 4 gold and 1 silver, making her the most successful swimmer at the championships. She also won her 30th national title, coming close to beating the Australian record set by Frank Beaurepaire in the 1920s of 33 national titles. Susie also did very well at the Commonwealth Games that year, winning 6 gold medals, making her the most successful athlete at the Games with 10 golds in 3 consecutive games. After the Commonwealth Games, Susie took a break and on October 2, married long-time boyfriend, Dr Cliff Farley, in Brisbane. Guests at the wedding included coach Scott Volkers and Australian teammate, Daniel Kowalski. The happy couple then went on a one month-long honeymoon in the Maldives. At the end of 1998, Susie also released her book, Choose To Win. Usually a very pivate person, this new book sheds light on the highs and lows of Susie's career and her relationships with coaches and fellow swimmers. Definitely an interesting read. Her interests include watching movies and going to the beach. In 1999, Susie competed in the Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney where she picked up 2 gold medals and 4 silvers. She also competed at the Australian Shortcourse Championships at the AIS in Canberra where she set a new 200m butterfly world record. Her most recent success was at the US Open held in December in Austin, Texas. She picked up gold medals for the 200m fly, 4x100m medley relay and the 4x200m freestyle relay. She also came 2nd in the 200m freestyle and the 100m fly. At the Australian Selection Trials for the Olympic Games, Susie achieved a life-long goal by breaking Mary T. Meagher's 18-year old world record in the 200m fly with a time of 2:05.81. She also won the 200m freestyle and now has 35 national titles, surpassing Frank Beaurepaire's record. She continued her good form in the Olympics, winning gold in the 200m Freestyle and silver in the 200m Butterfly, 4 x 200m Freestyle and 4 x 100m Medley relays. During the Games, she was also elected to the IOC and the Athletes' Commission. In November 2000, Susie annouced her retirement from competitive swimming. Many have speculated that she would retire but believed she would do so in front of her home crowd during the Goodwill Games 2001 in Brisbane, Australia. Susie's involvement in the IOC, however, will ensure that she will continue being the wonderful ambassador for Australian sport that she has been up till now. At the Australian Swimmer of the Year Awards on March 17, 2001, Susie was named Swimmers' Swimmer of the Year and along with fellow team retirees, presented with a special award recognising her contribution to the sport.
 
Related Database Events:
Olympic Games30/9/2000
Swimming17/5/2000

         
    Surname  Nationality
       

         < Back