Ms Leisel Jones OAM

Leisel Jones OAM is Australia’s most successful female swimmer of all-time. The first Australian to swim in four Olympic Games, she won nine Olympic medals, including three gold medals, plus seven world championship gold and 10 Commonwealth Games gold.

Born in Katherine in the Northern Territory but as Queensland as the old Valley Pool, she began a 12-year international career at 14, and at 15 was the baby of the Australian team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics before going on to showcase her technically perfect stroke in Athens, Beijing and London.

In 2003 she set a world record in the 100m breaststroke and won individual Olympic gold in the same event in 2008 in the highlight of her glittering career.

She broke the 200m breaststroke world record in 2004, and at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne completed a clean sweep of the 50m, 100m and 200m - the only time this has been done in breaststroke in Games history.

Her 100m and 200m Australian records have stood since 2006 and are the oldest women’s records in the book. Little wonder at one time she was described as “Beamonesque” in reference to American Bob Beamons’ legendary long jump at the Mexico Olympics in which he set a world record that would last 22 years.

Arguably the greatest woman’s breaststroker of all-time.