New President Chris Fydler’s Plan To Make Swimming Australia’s Number One Sport
Newly appointed Swimming Australia president, triple Olympian and Sydney 2000 gold medalist Chris Fydler (OAM), has wasted no time declaring his intentions in the countdown to the LA28 and a third home Olympics in Brisbane in 2032.
Swimming Australia made the announcement today in what will be another welcoming appointment for the sport’s governing body as it prepares for a third home Olympics.
The 52-year-old brings a strong vision and a lifelong passion for the sport, saying: “We have an opportunity to position swimming as the number one sport in Australia. To be a beacon of innovation, commercially secure, and globally recognised as providing sustainable pathways and high-performance results.
“I’m particularly passionate about this sport and about providing young Australians the opportunity to reach their potential. It is an honour to lead this organisation with the single purpose of inspiring Australia through swimming.”
Fydler, who had been serving as the interim chair on the Swimming Australia Board, brings a wealth of swimming, board room expertise and in particular his lifetime of passion for the sport that began as a youngster on the NSW Far North Coast with the Kingscliff Swimming Club.
He becomes the sixth Olympic swimmer to serve as president of the sport’s governing body, joining Terry Gathercole, John Devitt, Neil Martin, Kieren Perkins and Tracy Stockwell (Caulkins) in the top position.
Fydler swam in the era when Gathercole and Devitt brought their own special passion to the leadership of the sport in a golden era between 1996 and 2004.
Olympic teammates in 1960 in Rome, Gathercole and Devitt were joined at the hip when Australia hosted the Olympic world in 2000.
And as Australia prepares to host the world again in 2032, Fydler and his 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic teammate, Matt Dunn, will come together to bring that same stability and passion to the sport. Dunn id a director on the Swimming Australia Board as a Vice-President of World Aquatics and President of Oceania Swimming.
Perkins himself is continuing to pave the way at the top of Australian sport as the CEO of the Australian Sports Commission as is Rob Woodhouse – a teammate of Perkins and Fydler on the 1990 Commonwealth Games team – in his role as the CEO of Swimming Australia.
Woodhouse is a driving force in the delivery of the National Aquatics Centre – a key component in the Brisbane32 Olympics venues plan – and is delighted with Fydler’s appointment.
“Few people have the breadth and depth of Chris’ experience and knowledge across all facets of our sport, having served on committees and boards at Club, State, National and International level,” said Woodhouse.
“Chris’s permanent appointment continues the strong momentum of our sport as we build towards LA and to Brisbane 2032, and his thorough understanding of the swimming landscape will importantly identify the opportunities in front of us to inspire our community from the grassroots to the elite.”
It comes at a crucial time on the Australian and international sporting landscape and just days after the visit to Brisbane by the International Olympic Committee as the Queensland capital prepares to follow Melbourne (1956) and Sydney (2000) as an Olympic host city.
Awarded life membership of Swimming Australia in 2020, Fydler sat on the SA board as Interim Chair and his appointment is sure to be widely welcomed by the Australian swimming and broader sporting community.
In addition to serving as President of Swimming NSW, he was Deputy Chef de Mission for the Australian Olympic teams at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games and served on the Board of the NSW Institute of Sport from 2017-2023.
As Dolphin number 375, Fydler represented Australia from 1989-2000 and won gold at every major international competition (Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Pan Pacific championships). At the Sydney 2000 Olympics, he was a member of the gold-medal winning 4x100m freestyle relay team.
The Olympic gold medallist in the 4x100m freestyle in 2000 (with Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim and Ashley Calls) and qualified lawyer was also a board member of Swimming Australia from 2006-2010, and a member of the FINA’s (World Aquatics) Disciplinary Panel from 2009-2017 and Ethics Panel from 2018-2023.
Still an active swimmer, Fydler will compete at the World Masters Championships in Singapore in July.