With a twinkle in her eyes, Dawn Fraser says she just wants to be known, when she passes, as “the cheeky little rascal” who took Australia and the world by storm, after defying critics and overcoming heartbreak to make history at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
But this Aussie larrikin will be remembered for so much more. Dawn, 86, remains our greatest-ever Olympian; the first person to win three gold medals in the same event at three successive Olympic Games.
The story of how Dawn got there is every bit as compelling as her performances in the pool. If it wasn’t for her incredible courage and determination to honour her mum Rose, Dawn might never have won that historic third gold medal in Tokyo.
Just nine months before the Games, Dawn was driving her sister and mum home to Kiama on the night the Australian team was named. Suddenly her car slid and flipped, hitting a parked ute. Rose died in the crash, and Dawn was left with a broken neck.
Earlier that night Rose had been presented with a cheque from the family’s close-knit community to pay for her trip to Tokyo to watch Dawn swim in her third Olympic Games.
Dawn, who was just 27 at the time, found out her mother had died when she woke in hospital with cracked vertebrae and torn ligaments in her knee. She has always said it was the worst thing that ever happened to her.
“Tokyo was something very special because my mum was supposed to be there, but she wasn’t there. It meant everything to me to win that race – it was for her,” she later revealed.
“No-one was going to beat me that night. It was the most special swim I had in my life. I looked up in the sky and felt my mother’s wedding ring on my finger and I said, ‘This is for you, Mum.’”
Dawn’s historic victory in the 100m freestyle at Tokyo transformed her into the greatest female sprint swimmer ever. But what came next turned her life completely upside down.
Dawn had moved out of the athletes’ village and into the Imperial Palace Hotel when the team doctor asked her if she wanted a flag – and Dawn, he and one of the bronze medal-winning Australian hockey players set about getting some unique souvenirs.
The trio stole two flags from outside the Emperor’s Palace and ran when they heard police whistles. Dawn’s role in the madcap prank was revealed when one flag fell out from under her jacket when she was questioned by the police at the scene.
She was taken into custody by a sergeant who, at first, didn’t believe she was Dawn Fraser.
Hours later, a policeman arrived at Dawn’s hotel to present her with a box of flowers. Inside was a letter from the emperor: “Here’s your souvenir, please take it back to Australia.”
The incident made headlines around the world, and appeared to be just a hiccup for “cheeky rascal” Dawn. Yet it cast a huge shadow. She was later banned from competing for 10 years allegedly because she marched in the Tokyo opening ceremony when officials thought she should have been resting ahead of her races, and for also wearing non-regulation swimmers in her heats.
Dawn has always maintained that she couldn’t wear her official swimsuit because it didn’t fit properly, and that she had permission to wear her own swimsuit.
The ban was later reduced to four years. Still, it cost Dawn the chance to compete in the Mexico City Olympics in 1968 and the possibility of winning her fourth 100m freestyle gold medal in a fourth successive Olympic Games. Dawn remains convinced she would have won again.
Even without Mexico, Dawn’s achievements were nothing short of remarkable. She won eight Olympic medals, and six Commonwealth Games gold medals – and held 39 records, retaining her world champion 100m freestyle record for 15 years from 1956 to 1972.
Yet, her life out of the spotlight has been anything but easy. Dawn survived two sexual assaults, and suffered domestic violence during her short-lived marriage to horse trainer Gary Ware. She has admitted she came close to killing him to keep herself and their daughter, Dawn-Lorraine, safe.
Read more about Dawn’s life after the Olympics with her daughter and grandson in this week’s issue of New Idea.
