Mark Kerry

Born in Temora, New South Wales, near the regional centre of Wagga Wagga, Kerry was one of two sons born to a car salesman. Kerry's mother was a swimming teacher who ran her own aquatic school. Kerry was taught to swim by his mother, whom he regarded as a perfectionist who emphasised technique and turned him to backstroke.[1] Kerry grew up participating in a wide range of sports, representing Wollongong High School in tennis, athletics and swimming. He also competed four times in the state cross-country championships. Once his family had moved to the seaside city of Wollongong, Kerry developed a love of the surf. He found the ocean water much more exciting due to its unpredictability.[2] Kerry steadily rose through the surf lifesaving ranks, competing at the state and national championships. In 1974, Kerry won the Cadet Malibu event in the Australian Championships, and in 1975 he came second in the surf race at the Australian Open Surfing Championships. In the pool, Kerry had his first competitive race at the age of 12 in 1971. At the time, Brad Cooper—who went on to win the 400 m freestyle at the 1972 Summer Olympics—was living in Wollongong and he and Kerry trained together on a regular basis. In 1974, Kerry competed in the Australian Age Championships in freestyle, before moving north to train with John Rigby in Brisbane, Queensland in the following year. At the time of his move, Kerry was ranked around 200th in the world in backstroke.[2]

The Olympic pool in Montreal, where Kerry competed in 1976.

Kerry had improved to such an extent that by November 1975, his times in the 200 m backstroke had dropped from around 2 m 10 s to around 2 m 3.0 s, ranking him third in the world. As a result of his strong performances in the pool, Kerry retired from surf racing. Kerry made his debut at the 1976 Australian Championships, winning the 200 m freestyle and backstroke events in 1 m 54.33 s and 2 m 3.58 s respectively, as well as the 4 × 200 m freestyle and the 4 × 100 m medley relays for New South Wales, leading off both relays. Aged 16, Kerry won selection for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke, the 200 m freestyle, the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay and the 4 × 100 m medley relay.[2]

Kerry was second in his heat of the 200 m freestyle heat in a time of 1 m 54.86 s, but was four seconds off the pace and did not qualify for the final. His time was 2.08 s behind the slowest qualifier, placing him 16th.[3] Kerry did not get to swim in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. The fastest Australian in the corresponding individual event, he was rested in the qualifying round; Australia came third in their heat and ninth overall to miss the final by 1.88 s after Peter Dawson swam his split in a time four seconds slower than Kerry's effort in the individual event. Had Kerry repeated his individual time in the relay in place of Dawson, Australia would have qualified fifth.[4]

Kerry found more success in the 100 m backstroke, winning his heat in 57.99 s to qualify third fastest for the semifinals. He then scraped into the final as the second slowest qualifier, after coming fourth in his semifinal in a time of 58.04 s. His time of 57.94 s placed him seventh in the final, ahead of fellow Australian Mark Tonelli, but more than two seconds behind the victorious John Naber of the United States.[2][5] In the 200 m event, Kerry put in a personal best time of 2 m 3.58 s in the first heat to qualify fourth fastest for the final, but swam slower in the decider to finish fifth in a time of 2 m 4.07 s, one place behind Tonelli and 2.72 s away from bronze.[6] Kerry combined with Paul Jarvie, Neil Rogers and Peter Coughlan in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, placing sixth.[7] The quartet qualified in sixth place, and Kerry had them in fourth place after posting a time of 57.94 s in the first leg, but his teammates were unable to keep up with the leaders and finished more than four seconds out of medal contention.[8]

Kerry was disappointed with his performances, feeling that he had failed to perform to his potential amid the pressure and excitement of an Olympics. However, he felt that his experience of racing against the likes of Naber and Roland Matthes would hold him in good stead. On a brighter note, Kerry's performances impressed the leading American coach Doc Counsilman, who invited him to come and swim at Indiana University after Kerry finished his secondary schooling in Australia.[7] Kerry successfully defended his 200 m backstroke national title in 1977, but the time was more than four seconds slower than his effort in the previous year. He combined with his New South Wales teammates to win all three relays, again in times substantially slower than in the preceding Olympic year. The performances earned him selection for the Australian team for the Coca-Cola Meet in London, but Kerry felt that he lacked motivation after the Olympics. Upon returning, he decided to absent himself from such events.[7]

The swimming pool at the University of Southern California, where Kerry trained.

In January 1978, Kerry arrived at Indiana University, studying theatre, drama and telecommunications. Based on the times that he recorded for Indiana, Kerry was named in the Australian squad for the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.[7] However, his international career appeared to be in disarray when along with two teammates, Tonelli and Joe Dixon, he was expelled from the Australian team for breaking a curfew on American Independence Day during a training camp in Honolulu, Hawaii.[9][10][11][12] According to Tonelli, Kerry was late because he was courting a female he had met, while Tonelli and Dixon had been drinking. Tonelli also admitted to the officials that he had smoked marijuana—not illegal under Hawaii law—on the night.[13] In the aftermath of the incident, Tonelli appeared on Australian television, strongly denying rumours that he had been involved in a drug-fuelled orgy with teammates. He admitted to smoking marijuana, but defended his actions, saying that it was not illegal. Supporters in Australia, including future Prime Minister Bob Hawke, launched a petition for the reinstatement of the trio, which garnered thousands of signatures, but to no avail.[14]

Kerry returned to Indiana and continued his training. He competed at the 1979 U.S. National Championships at Fort Lauderdale, setting Australian records in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke in times of 56.50 s and 2 m 2.61 s respectively. Over time, Kerry became increasingly discontented with Counsilman, who he felt was losing focus and becoming preoccupied with various business commitments and an attempt to swim across the English Channel. Kerry transferred to the University of Southern California, which was coached by Naber's mentor Peter Daland.[7]

Kerry returned home to compete in the 1980 Australian Championships, winning both backstroke events, albeit in a slower time than his Australian records. Kerry added two titles as a member of the 4 × 100 m medley and freestyle relay teams for New South Wales. This earned Kerry his second trip to the Olympics, this time in Moscow.[15] However, another obstacle arose with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which resulted in a boycott of the Games by a large part of the Western world, led by the United States. The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was also the patron of the Australian Olympic Committee, and significant political pressure came to bear on the athletes to boycott the Games. Kerry's teammate Tonelli, however, realised that only the sportspeople would suffer from a boycott and that trade relations would continue unabated. He took a leadership role among the athletes to fight for their right to compete.[9][16] Kerry was equally adamant that he was going to compete, unlike some other swimmers who made personal boycotts. He received offers from Australian government officials to boycott the Games in return for financial payments. He said:

I felt the biggest statement we could make was to go to Moscow and show the world. If there was a total boycott, fine, but trade was still going on. It was disgusting. Why should the athletes be made to suffer?[15]

Upon leaving the US for the Olympics, Kerry was threatened with the cancellation of his US visa.[17] Kerry arrived in Moscow facing a four event schedule: he was nominated in both backstroke events and the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay and the 4 × 100 m medley relay. With the Americans and many other western swimmers absent, Australian officials were confident that their three entrants in the 100 m backstroke, Kerry, Tonelli and Glenn Patching, would all make the final and win medals.[15] Kerry came in third both in his heat and in the semi-final, clocking 58.08 s and 58.07 s respectively, missing out on the final by just 0.02 s. He was the ninth fastest in the closely run semifinals, with the third fastest qualifier being only 0.18 s faster.[18] Patching missed the final after slipping on the starting wall in his race, while Tonelli went on to finish seventh.[15] Had Kerry matched his personal best of 65.50 s, he would have won the gold medal ahead of Sweden's Bengt Baron.[18]

Kerry bounced back in the 200 m backstroke and won his heat to qualify third-fastest,[19] before claiming bronze in a time of 2 m 3.14 s behind the Hungarian duo of Sándor Wladár and Zoltán Verrasztó.[11] He edged out the Soviet Union's Vladimir Shemetov by 0.34 s, becoming the first Australian to win a medal in an individual backstroke event since David Theile in 1960.[15][19] In the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, he combined with Tonelli, Graeme Brewer and Ron McKeon as Australia came seventh after qualifying fourth.[15] The Australians were sixth at the halfway point when Kerry jumped in for the third leg. Kerry moved Australia into fifth by the end of his leg, just 0.78 s from the bronze medal position, after posting a split time of 1 m 52.64 s, the 18th fastest split in the race. However, McKeon could not keep pace with the opposition anchor swimmers, and Australia finished seventh, 1.52 s outside the medals.[20]

After the Olympics, Kerry took an extended break from competitive swimming. He was asked to return for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, so he made a comeback, but did only two weeks of solid training and missed selection, failing to win either backstroke event. In 1983, he began preparing for the Olympics, but did not start serious work until October. Kerry was confident in his ability to perform at international standards with sporadic preparation after long sabbaticals. He attributed this to his technique and ability to keep his 190 cm, 80 kg body in shape while not training.[15]

He returned to Australia in 1984 and after training in Brisbane, he was selected for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles despite winning neither backstroke event at the Australian Championships. Arriving in the United States, Kerry was scheduled to compete in the 100 m backstroke and 4 × 100 m medley relay.[15] Kerry swam quickly to win his heat in the 100 m in a time of 57.15 s, qualifying third fastest for the final. However, he was unable to improve his pace in the final, finishing fifth in a time of 57.18 s, 0.69 s from the bronze medal.[28] In the medley relay, Kerry and Evans joined Glenn Buchanan and Mark Stockwell, who swam the butterfly and freestyle respectively. They were no match for the Americans, who had three of the four gold medallists in the corresponding individual events and finished almost four seconds ahead. Kerry had Australia in third place at the first change, finishing his leg in a time of 57.12 s, but by this point the Americans were already 1.71 s ahead. Australia remained third at every change and were beaten by the second-placed Canadians by just 0.02 s.[11][15][29][30]

After the Games, Kerry retired from competitive swimming. He then worked in Los Angeles as a model and hosted a fashion show on cable television.[15] According to Tonelli, Kerry's mother told her son to "look after that face, [because] that's all you've got".[31] Tonelli disagreed, opining that "he was always much more than that".[31] Tonelli reported that Kerry was busy preening himself just before the start of their Olympic-winning relay performance, claiming that although Australia was unlikely to win the race, he needed to look good because a prospective employer might be watching. Kerry went on to model on the catwalks of Milan and Paris.[32]

Kerry married his American wife Lynda, and they split their time between Australia and the United States. They have two children, a son Tanner who is a semi-professional basketball player, and a daughter Madison, who is an actress appearing on Home and Away. Along with his brother Phil, Kerry founded Dunhill Management, one of Australia's largest recruiting firms.[15][31] In 2001, the brothers sold Dunhill to the British firm Robert Walters for A$22.7 million, with up to A$13.8 million in extra payments depending on the future success of the company.[33] After this, Kerry worked as the managing director of another firm, before starting a new recruitment business with his brother, K2 Recruitment & Consulting.[34]

• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)

• Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games. Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 0-7333-0884-8.
• Forrest, Lisa (2008). Boycott. Sydney, New South Wales: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 978-0-7333-2295-2.
• Gordon, Harry (1994). Australia and the Olympic Games. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland. ISBN 0-7022-2627-0.
• Howell, Max (1986). Aussie Gold. Albion, Queensland: Brooks Waterloo. ISBN 0-86440-680-0.
• Tonelli, Mark (2008). Tougher than nails: swimming through turbulence (PDF). Mark Tonelli. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2010.