Bob Windle, Date of Birth, Place of Birth
TweetBob Windle
Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, former world record-holder
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
About Bob Windle
- Robert George Windle (born 7 November 1944) is an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won four Olympic medals, including an individual gold medal.
- Windle won the 1500 m freestyle and took bronze in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and silver and bronze in the 4 × 200 m and 4 × 100 m freestyle relays respectively at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
- Known for his versatility, he is the only male swimmer to represent Australia at the Olympics in all freestyle distances from 100 m to 1500 m.
- During his career, Windle set six world records and won six Commonwealth Games gold medals.
- He won 19 Australian championships in all distances from 220 yd to 1650 yd. Growing up in eastern Sydney, Windle was trained by Frank Guthrie from the age of 12.
- Windle's first major swimming competition was the 1960 Australian Championships.
- Aged 15, his second-place finish in the 1650 yd freestyle earned him a place on the team for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.
- However, the Australian coaches only took him along to gain experience and he did not compete.
- He won his first national title in 1961—the 1650 yd freestyle—and claimed the 220–440–1650 yd treble in 1962.
- Windle made his international debut at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, winning gold in the 4 × 220 yd freestyle and silver and bronze in the 1650 and 440 yd freestyle respectively.
- In 1963, he won four individual national titles, adding the 880 yd event to the successful defence of his three titles.
- He won three individual titles in 1964 and proceeded to the Tokyo Olympics where he was eliminated in the heats of the 400 m freestyle after attempting to save energy for the final.
- In response, Windle took an aggressive approach in the 1500 m and set Olympic records in the heats and final to win gold.
- He added a bronze in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. After the Olympics, Windle enrolled at Indiana University, where he trained under Doc Counsilman.
- While in the United States, Windle converted to sprint swimming.
- He competed in the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, winning the 440 yd freestyle, 4 × 110 yd and 4 × 220 yd freestyle relays, all in world-record times.
- He competed in his second Olympics in Mexico City in 1968, racing the 100 m and 200 m freestyle and the corresponding relays, having completed his transition to sprinting.
- He won a bronze and silver in the respective relays and retired after the games.
- In retirement, he worked for Allis-Chalmers in the United States, before being transferred to their Australian division.
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