Jon Sieben
Encyclopedia
Jonathan ("Jon") Scott Sieben (born 24 August 1966) is an Australian former butterfly swimmer active in the 1980s, who won gold in the 200 m butterfly at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
.
Hailing from Brisbane
, Queensland
, Sieben was coached by Laurie Lawrence
, and made his debut at the young age of 15 at the Brisbane
1982 Commonwealth Games
, where he captured a bronze in the 200 m butterfly, as well as gold in the medley relay. Sieben and Lawrence continued their preparation for Los Angeles, but were given little chance. Sieben was known to his friends as The Shrimp, as he stood just 173 cm, in contrast to the dominant swimmer of the time, West Germany's Michael Groß, the world record holder, known as The albatross with his 200 cm frame and 225 cm wingspan. He also faced the 100 m butterfly world record holder, the United States' Pablo Morales
. Sieben swam in the wake of Groß and Morales in the first 150 m, before storming home in the last 50 m to claim the gold medal in a world record time of 1 m 57.04 s, more than four seconds faster than he had ever swum before. He also collected a bronze medal after swimming in the preliminaries of the medley relay. He was named the Young Australian of the Year.
By the 1988 Seoul Olympics
, Sieben's ability had waned, and the selectors did not choose him for the 200 m butterfly. He finished fourth in the 100 m butterfly. He continued onto the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
, but failed to reach the final of the 100m butterfly individual event. He formed part of Australia's 4X100m medley relay team that finished 7th in the final, in a national record time of 3:42.65.
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
.
Hailing from 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...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Sieben was coached by Laurie Lawrence
Laurie Lawrence
Laurie Joseph Lawrence , is an Australian swimming coach. He was also an Australia national rugby union team member in 1964.-Early life:...
, and made his debut at the young age of 15 at the 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...
1982 Commonwealth Games
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...
, where he captured a bronze in the 200 m butterfly, as well as gold in the medley relay. Sieben and Lawrence continued their preparation for Los Angeles, but were given little chance. Sieben was known to his friends as The Shrimp, as he stood just 173 cm, in contrast to the dominant swimmer of the time, West Germany's Michael Groß, the world record holder, known as The albatross with his 200 cm frame and 225 cm wingspan. He also faced the 100 m butterfly world record holder, the United States' Pablo Morales
Pablo Morales
Pablo Morales is an American former swimmer. He attended Bellarmine College Preparatory, in San Jose, California under the supervision of Larry Rogers...
. Sieben swam in the wake of Groß and Morales in the first 150 m, before storming home in the last 50 m to claim the gold medal in a world record time of 1 m 57.04 s, more than four seconds faster than he had ever swum before. He also collected a bronze medal after swimming in the preliminaries of the medley relay. He was named the Young Australian of the Year.
By the 1988 Seoul Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
, Sieben's ability had waned, and the selectors did not choose him for the 200 m butterfly. He finished fourth in the 100 m butterfly. He continued onto the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, but failed to reach the final of the 100m butterfly individual event. He formed part of Australia's 4X100m medley relay team that finished 7th in the final, in a national record time of 3:42.65.