Gail Neall
Encyclopedia
Gail Neall is a former Australian medley swimmer who raced in the 1970s. She won a gold medal in the 400 m individual medley at the 1972 Summer Olympics
in Munich
in world record time.
in the year of her birth. Her father Allan was a graduate of the University of Queensland
and had found a job with an oil company. Her brother was 13 years older than she was, while her two sisters were twelve and eight years her senior, respectively. Her family had a backyard pool, something that was rather uncommon during the 1950s in Australia. Neall was initially timid, and would not take her feet from the bottom of the pool. When asked about who taught her to swim, she would attribute it to her mother Thelma, who could not swim at all.
Neall had her first swimming instruction from Marlene Town, a former Queensland champion. Despite her progress, her school swimming coach did not regard her as suitable for the Nundah Primary School team, and went to the trouble of filming her breaststroke technique to show the other children what not to do. Neall's father cited his daughter's personal trait of wanting to prove her sceptics wrong as a major attribute in her future success. He took her to Arthur Cusack
at Brisbane's Centenary Pool, and only two weeks later, she came third in the under-9 division of the 50 m freestyle at the State Schools Championships.
Soon after, the family moved back to Sydney, and Gail began to swim under Harold Reid at the Frank O'Neill pool at Pymble, New South Wales
. In 1965, she joined the Ryde Amateur Swimming Club, which was sold in 1966 to Forbes Carlile. Carlile was regarded as the leading Australian coach of the time, so she was integrated into his squad.
. From her debut until her retirement in 1974, she made the final in every event in which she competed.
In mid-1968, Neall broke her arm in a gymnastics
class at school and was sidelined for more than three months. She returned in the 1969 New South Wales Winter Championshisp, where she did well enough to win selection for a state team tour of New Zealand. In her first overseas meet, she won the 400 m freestyle after defeating Karen Moras
and Denise Langford
. Neall started the 1969-70 summer swimming season on a poor note. She claimed no victories in the State Championships and was disqualified in the 400 m individual medley after breaking a state record in the heats. Three silvers and bronze saw her progress to Adelaide for the national under-16 championships. She won the 400 m individual medley, setting the fastest time in the Commonwealth for the year to date. She showed a wide range of skills by winning bronze in the 200 m butterfly and a silver in the 200 m individual medley.
The 1970 Australian Championships doubled as the selection trials for the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
in Edinburgh
. Neall came third and second in the 200 m and 400 m respectively to gain selection, despite having yet to claim a national title.
Neall's stature and physique was extremely small for an elite swimmer, measuring 160 cm and 50.8 kg. Known for her stroke versatility in the medley and her stamina, her small stature led her to be dubbed "the mighty mite". She had converted from concentrating on the butterfly event to medley swimming, despite difficulties with the breaststroke
leg. In Edinburgh
, Scotland, she claimed a silver medal in the 400 m individual medley, finishing more than five seconds behind fellow Australian Denise Langford
. However, she had made significant improvements, cutting more than eight seconds from her heat time to finish in a time of 5 m 15.82 s. Her performance in the 200 m individual medley was not as strong. She had come second in her heat in a time of 2 m 34.32 s to qualify for the final but swam slower in a time of 2 m 36.78 s to place eighth.
Neall continued her rise after the Commonwealth Games by winning the medley double and a silver medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 1971 New South Wales Championships. At the winter nationals, she won the 400 m medley and took silver in both the 200 m medley and the 200 m backstroke. She finally broke through for her first title at the 1971 Australian Championships in Hobart
, taking the 400 m individual medley in a time of 5 m 16.5 s.
In 1971, she switched to the coaching of Don Talbot
at his Hurstville
squad, after her parents became increasingly uncomfortable with Carlile, perceiving that he did not have confidence in her ability to win at the highest level. Talbot had overseen her training as the national coach for the Commonwealth Games in 1970. Neall's father felt that his daughter's performance improved as a result of Talbor's individual attention to his swimmers, thereby building their confidence. The switch also meant a larger burden on the family; Hurstville was 32 km from the family home.
in Munich
, and travelled to the team training camp in Brisbane
. She sealed her place in the 200 m butterfly by winning a trial race during the camp, and was entered in both the individual medleys.
Neall missed the final in the 200 m individual medley, her first event, after swimming a personal best of 2 m 29.6 s in coming third in her heat. She placed 14th overall, more than 2.5 s outside the qualifying limit.
Neall was considered an outsider in her pet event, the 400 m individual medley, with Americans Jennifer Bartz, Lyn Vidali and Mary Montgomery, and Canadian Leslie Cliff fancied to take the gold medal. Neall had a mediocre heat swim; although she won it in a time of 5 m 11.89 s, subsequent heats were faster and she was only sixth fastest. Evelyn Stolze of East Germany was the quickest qualifier in an Olympic record 5 s 6.96 s and Neall was more than three seconds slower than the third fastest qualifier.
Neall initially contested the lead in the butterfly leg with Bartz and Vidali, taking the lead in the second 50 m of the first stroke after the two Americans had led in the first lap. Neall turned at the end of the butterfly in first place in a time of 1 m 8.64 s. She extended her lead to a bodylength at the end of the backstroke leg, before going into the breaststroke, her weakest leg. Despite being expected to falter in the breaststroke, Neall managed to maintain parity, and still narrowly led at the change into freestyle with a split of 3 m 55.51 s, having repelled attack by Cliff and Bartz. Cliff attacked in the first half of the freestyle leg and took a narrow lead at the final turn, before Neall fought back to draw level with 30 meters to go. The pair stroked in tandem for the next ten metres before Neall drew away to win in a time of 5 m 02.97 s. It was a new world record, and improved on her personal best by 7 seconds as the top four finishers all lowered the world record. Neall had defeated Cliff by 0.60 s. Novella Calligaris
took bronze, 1.02 s in arrears.
Her victory from lane seven was emulated by Australia's two other female individual swimming gold medallists at Munich: Shane Gould
and Beverley Whitfield
had won the 200 m individual medley and 200 m breaststroke from lane seven.
In the 200 m butterfly event, Neall qualified for the final, scraping in as the slowest qualifier after posting a time of 2 m 23.21 s to place third in her heat. In the final, she was unable to challenge the winner, Karen Moe
, from the United States, who broke her own world record. Neall came seventh in a time of 2 m 21.88 s, more than five seconds outside the medals.
She was a schoolmate of fellow Munich gold medal winning swimmer Shane Gould
at Turramurra High School
on the north shore of Sydney. Overshadowed, she did not receive a civic reception from the local council upon her return to Australia. Her performance at Munich won her the Helms Award as Australasia's outstanding athlete for 1972.
in Belgrade
, Yugoslavia
. After the European trip, Neall went to Thunder Bay
in Canada to train with Talbot for three months. She competed in the Canadian season, setting three Canadian all-comers records.
In 1974, she returned to Australia and resumed training with Gathercole. She won both medley events and the 200 m butterfly and was selected for the Commonwealth Games.
At the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch
, New Zealand, Neall had faded from her peak times. Although she won a bronze in the 200 m butterfly in 2 m 21.66 s, her performance in the 400 sm individual medley was 10 seconds slower than her personal best, and left her last in the final. She retired after returning to Australia.
One of the pools at the Ryde Swimming Complex was named after her.
Neall met her farmer-grazier husband while teaching in rural New South Wales, and they settled in Merrygoen
. She ceased her involvement in swimming as there was no pool in the vicinity of the area, which was also frequently drought-stricken. The couple had four children, including twins.
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in world record time.
Early years
The youngest of four children, Neall's family moved to BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in the year of her birth. Her father Allan was a graduate of the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
and had found a job with an oil company. Her brother was 13 years older than she was, while her two sisters were twelve and eight years her senior, respectively. Her family had a backyard pool, something that was rather uncommon during the 1950s in Australia. Neall was initially timid, and would not take her feet from the bottom of the pool. When asked about who taught her to swim, she would attribute it to her mother Thelma, who could not swim at all.
Neall had her first swimming instruction from Marlene Town, a former Queensland champion. Despite her progress, her school swimming coach did not regard her as suitable for the Nundah Primary School team, and went to the trouble of filming her breaststroke technique to show the other children what not to do. Neall's father cited his daughter's personal trait of wanting to prove her sceptics wrong as a major attribute in her future success. He took her to Arthur Cusack
Arthur Cusack
Arthur Cusack was an Australian Olympic swimming coach in the 1950s and 1960s.-Early career:...
at Brisbane's Centenary Pool, and only two weeks later, she came third in the under-9 division of the 50 m freestyle at the State Schools Championships.
Soon after, the family moved back to Sydney, and Gail began to swim under Harold Reid at the Frank O'Neill pool at Pymble, New South Wales
Pymble, New South Wales
Pymble is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pymble is located north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council....
. In 1965, she joined the Ryde Amateur Swimming Club, which was sold in 1966 to Forbes Carlile. Carlile was regarded as the leading Australian coach of the time, so she was integrated into his squad.
Success
Neall quickly encountered success, winning her first New South Wales Championship in her age division of the backstroke at 11 in 1966. Still aged 11, she made her debut in the open State Championships, and came third in the 200 m backstroke to qualify for the 1967 Australian Championships in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. From her debut until her retirement in 1974, she made the final in every event in which she competed.
In mid-1968, Neall broke her arm in a gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
class at school and was sidelined for more than three months. She returned in the 1969 New South Wales Winter Championshisp, where she did well enough to win selection for a state team tour of New Zealand. In her first overseas meet, she won the 400 m freestyle after defeating Karen Moras
Karen Moras
Karen Lynne Moras , known after marriage as Karen Moras-Stephenson was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 400 m freestyle at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City...
and Denise Langford
Denise Langford
Denise June Langford is a former Australian swimmer. She competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1970 British Commonwealth Games. Langford is the mother of Australian netball player Kimberlee Green....
. Neall started the 1969-70 summer swimming season on a poor note. She claimed no victories in the State Championships and was disqualified in the 400 m individual medley after breaking a state record in the heats. Three silvers and bronze saw her progress to Adelaide for the national under-16 championships. She won the 400 m individual medley, setting the fastest time in the Commonwealth for the year to date. She showed a wide range of skills by winning bronze in the 200 m butterfly and a silver in the 200 m individual medley.
The 1970 Australian Championships doubled as the selection trials for the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
1970 British Commonwealth Games
The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland from 16 July to 25 July 1970.This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in events, and also the first time the games were held in...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Neall came third and second in the 200 m and 400 m respectively to gain selection, despite having yet to claim a national title.
Neall's stature and physique was extremely small for an elite swimmer, measuring 160 cm and 50.8 kg. Known for her stroke versatility in the medley and her stamina, her small stature led her to be dubbed "the mighty mite". She had converted from concentrating on the butterfly event to medley swimming, despite difficulties with the breaststroke
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
leg. In Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland, she claimed a silver medal in the 400 m individual medley, finishing more than five seconds behind fellow Australian Denise Langford
Denise Langford
Denise June Langford is a former Australian swimmer. She competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1970 British Commonwealth Games. Langford is the mother of Australian netball player Kimberlee Green....
. However, she had made significant improvements, cutting more than eight seconds from her heat time to finish in a time of 5 m 15.82 s. Her performance in the 200 m individual medley was not as strong. She had come second in her heat in a time of 2 m 34.32 s to qualify for the final but swam slower in a time of 2 m 36.78 s to place eighth.
Neall continued her rise after the Commonwealth Games by winning the medley double and a silver medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 1971 New South Wales Championships. At the winter nationals, she won the 400 m medley and took silver in both the 200 m medley and the 200 m backstroke. She finally broke through for her first title at the 1971 Australian Championships in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, taking the 400 m individual medley in a time of 5 m 16.5 s.
In 1971, she switched to the coaching of Don Talbot
Don Talbot
Don Talbot OBE is an Olympic swimming coach from Australia. He has coached national teams for Canada and Australia.-Canada:Since the 1950s Talbot has coached Olympic champions and World Record holders for a thirty year period...
at his Hurstville
Hurstville, New South Wales
Hurstville is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hurstville is located 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of...
squad, after her parents became increasingly uncomfortable with Carlile, perceiving that he did not have confidence in her ability to win at the highest level. Talbot had overseen her training as the national coach for the Commonwealth Games in 1970. Neall's father felt that his daughter's performance improved as a result of Talbor's individual attention to his swimmers, thereby building their confidence. The switch also meant a larger burden on the family; Hurstville was 32 km from the family home.
Olympics
In 1972, Neall had her most successful Australian Championships, winning the 200 m butterfly and the 400 m individual medley in times of 5 m 9.8 s and 2 m 23.2 s respectively and coming second in the 200 m individual medley. She was selected for the 1972 Summer Olympics1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and travelled to the team training camp in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. She sealed her place in the 200 m butterfly by winning a trial race during the camp, and was entered in both the individual medleys.
Neall missed the final in the 200 m individual medley, her first event, after swimming a personal best of 2 m 29.6 s in coming third in her heat. She placed 14th overall, more than 2.5 s outside the qualifying limit.
Neall was considered an outsider in her pet event, the 400 m individual medley, with Americans Jennifer Bartz, Lyn Vidali and Mary Montgomery, and Canadian Leslie Cliff fancied to take the gold medal. Neall had a mediocre heat swim; although she won it in a time of 5 m 11.89 s, subsequent heats were faster and she was only sixth fastest. Evelyn Stolze of East Germany was the quickest qualifier in an Olympic record 5 s 6.96 s and Neall was more than three seconds slower than the third fastest qualifier.
Neall initially contested the lead in the butterfly leg with Bartz and Vidali, taking the lead in the second 50 m of the first stroke after the two Americans had led in the first lap. Neall turned at the end of the butterfly in first place in a time of 1 m 8.64 s. She extended her lead to a bodylength at the end of the backstroke leg, before going into the breaststroke, her weakest leg. Despite being expected to falter in the breaststroke, Neall managed to maintain parity, and still narrowly led at the change into freestyle with a split of 3 m 55.51 s, having repelled attack by Cliff and Bartz. Cliff attacked in the first half of the freestyle leg and took a narrow lead at the final turn, before Neall fought back to draw level with 30 meters to go. The pair stroked in tandem for the next ten metres before Neall drew away to win in a time of 5 m 02.97 s. It was a new world record, and improved on her personal best by 7 seconds as the top four finishers all lowered the world record. Neall had defeated Cliff by 0.60 s. Novella Calligaris
Novella Calligaris
Novella Calligaris is an Italian retired swimmer, and the first Italian swimmer to win an Olympic medal in swimming....
took bronze, 1.02 s in arrears.
Her victory from lane seven was emulated by Australia's two other female individual swimming gold medallists at Munich: Shane Gould
Shane Gould
Shane Elizabeth Gould, MBE is an Australian former swimmer who won three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics. It was the greatest performance by an Australian at a single Olympics.-Biography:...
and Beverley Whitfield
Beverley Whitfield
Beverley Joy Whitfield was an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1970s, who won a gold medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich...
had won the 200 m individual medley and 200 m breaststroke from lane seven.
In the 200 m butterfly event, Neall qualified for the final, scraping in as the slowest qualifier after posting a time of 2 m 23.21 s to place third in her heat. In the final, she was unable to challenge the winner, Karen Moe
Karen Moe
Karen Patricia Moe-Thornton is a former butterfly swimmer from the United States, who won the gold medal in the 200 m Butterfly at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.-External links:...
, from the United States, who broke her own world record. Neall came seventh in a time of 2 m 21.88 s, more than five seconds outside the medals.
She was a schoolmate of fellow Munich gold medal winning swimmer Shane Gould
Shane Gould
Shane Elizabeth Gould, MBE is an Australian former swimmer who won three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics. It was the greatest performance by an Australian at a single Olympics.-Biography:...
at Turramurra High School
Turramurra High School
Turramurra High School is a public comprehensive co-educational high school located in South Turramurra, a residential area on the North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1967, although the current premises weren't occupied until 1968, it adjoins the Lane Cove National Park...
on the north shore of Sydney. Overshadowed, she did not receive a civic reception from the local council upon her return to Australia. Her performance at Munich won her the Helms Award as Australasia's outstanding athlete for 1972.
Post-Olympics
After the Olympics, Neall's partnership with Talbot was broken when he took up a coaching position in Canada. She started training with his assistant Ruth Everuss, but the pair did not produce the desired results. Neall took an extended break from swimming to complete her Higher School Certificate and won a scholarship to Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education to train as a primary school teacher. The interrupted swimming regime saw a decline in her times at the 1973 Australian Championships in Adelaide, as she could defend neither of her titles. She placed second in the 400 m individual medley and third in the 200 m butterfly. The selectors persisted with her and chose her for the International Coca-Cola Meet in London and the World Championship1973 World Aquatics Championships
The first FINA World Championships in Aquatics were held in the Tašmajdan Sports Centre in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, from August 31 to September 9, 1973.-Medal table:-Diving:MenWomen-Swimming:MenWomen- Synchronised swimming :Women...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. After the European trip, Neall went to Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
in Canada to train with Talbot for three months. She competed in the Canadian season, setting three Canadian all-comers records.
In 1974, she returned to Australia and resumed training with Gathercole. She won both medley events and the 200 m butterfly and was selected for the Commonwealth Games.
At the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand, Neall had faded from her peak times. Although she won a bronze in the 200 m butterfly in 2 m 21.66 s, her performance in the 400 sm individual medley was 10 seconds slower than her personal best, and left her last in the final. She retired after returning to Australia.
One of the pools at the Ryde Swimming Complex was named after her.
Neall met her farmer-grazier husband while teaching in rural New South Wales, and they settled in Merrygoen
Merrygoen, New South Wales
Merrygoen is a small township in north-western New South Wales, Australia. The town is a junction point between railway lines to Troy Junction on the Coonamble railway line, and the Gwabegar railway line. The railway station is now closed however wheat silos and several sidings remain in use....
. She ceased her involvement in swimming as there was no pool in the vicinity of the area, which was also frequently drought-stricken. The couple had four children, including twins.