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Michael Wenden
| Personal
information |
| Full name |
Michael Vincent Wenden |
| Nickname(s) |
"Mike" |
| Nationality |
 Australia |
| Stroke(s) |
freestyle |
| Club |
Victoria |
| Date of birth |
November 17, 1949 (1949-11-17)
(age 60) |
| Place of birth |
Sydney, New
South Wales |
| Height |
1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in) |
|
|
Michael ("Mike") Vincent Wenden MBE (born 17
November 1949 in Sydney, New South
Wales) is a former swimming champion from Australia, who competed in
two Olympic Games — 1968 Summer Olympics and 1972
Summer Olympics. He holds a bachelor of commerce from the University of New South
Wales.
Wenden did not have a stylish stroke at the time of his golden
streak in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He was known as a
"drop-dead sprinter", flailing away with nearly sixty strokes to
the lap to his opponents’ forty. It didn't matter: Wenden won the
100 m and 200 m freestyle, setting a world record in the
shorter distance and an Olympic record in the longer. In doing so
he beat the American superstars Mark Spitz and Don Schollander. He also won silver and
bronze in relays.
Wenden came under the influence of an unconventional coach,
former army commando Vic Arneil, when he was thirteen years old.
The 200 m Olympic record Wenden broke was the sport’s oldest;
the event had not been on the program since 1904, and Australia’s
Freddie Lane
set the record in 1900. Wenden had trouble adjusting to Mexico
City’s high altitude; for two weeks his heart pumped so fast he
could not swim and hardly sleep. After his 200 m final he lost
consciousness and sank; his team-mate Bob Windle came to his aid, pulling him to
the surface.
In 2000 Wenden was one of the eight flag-bearers of the Olympic Flag at the opening ceremony of the
2000
Summer Olympics in Sydney.
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