Bob Windle

Growing up in eastern Sydney, Bob Windle took up swimming seriously when he was a 12-year-old. He first came to the national spotlight in 1960, when he finished second behind John Konrads in the one mile freestyle at the Australian Championships, which earned him a spot on the 1960 Australian Olympic team, although only as a reserve swimmer. Known for his versatility, Windle is the only male swimmer to represent Australia at the Olympics in all freestyle distances as of 2017. Competing at two Olympics in 1964 and 1968, he won 1,500 m Olympic gold in 1964, 4x200 free relay silver in 1968 and 4x100 free relay bronzes in 1964 and 1968. At the British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Windle won the 440 yd freestyle gold in 1966, 4x110 free relay gold in 1966, 4x220 free relay golds in 1962 and 1966, and added a one mile freestyle silver in 1962, and a 440 free bronze in 1962. Windle won 19 Australian Championships between 1961-68 and also set six world records, including 2:00.3 in 1963 for the 200 metre freestyle.

As an Indiana University student, Windle anchored Indiana’s 4x220 yds freestyle relay team to victory at the 1968 NCAA championships, sealing what would be the first of six consecutive men’s NCAA team titles for Indiana University. He retired from competition after the 1968 Olympics and, after graduating from Indiana with a business degree, worked for Allis-Chalmers, an agricultural equipment company in the United States. Windle returned to Australia after being transferred to the Australian division of the firm’s operations. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) in 1990 and Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.