Kevin O'Halloran

In 1976, his body was discovered next to a rifle, near a fence on the property; he had tripped as he climbed through the fence, and he accidentally shot himself. O'Halloran never married. The 50 m pool at Kojonup was named the Kevin O'Halloran Memorial Pool in his honour, and he was posthumously inducted into the Western Australian Hall of Champions.

O'Halloran returned to Perth after the Olympics to be welcomed by a motorcade and a civic reception. He was named as one of the five Western Australian Sportspeople of the Year in recognition of his winning performance. Despite his achievements, the state government ignored calls for Western Australia to build an Olympic standard swimming pool until 1962, when they constructed one for the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth.

Thereafter, O'Halloran's career was beset by ear problems, and he retired in 1958 after failing to qualify for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In 1976, O'Halloran died after tripping and accidentally shooting himself.

In 1958, O'Halloran's parents travelled across the continent to watch him swim at the Australian Championships in Sydney, but a recurring ear infection hindered his performances. He missed selection for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff and retired after the long car journey back across the Nullarbor. Upon arriving in Kojonup, O'Halloran was reported to have said, "I've had enough". O'Halloran then worked full-time on the family property.

At the 1956 New South Wales Championships, he finished third in the 220 yd freestyle behind Gary Chapman and John Devitt; his time of 2 min 12.6 s was 10 s faster than the times he had recorded in Western Australia. He came in fourth in both the 110 yd and 440 yd. In the 110 yd event, he breached the 60 s barrier for the first time. And his time in the 440 yd was more than 30 s faster than his best time in Western Australia.

At the Australian Championships, he came third in the 440 yd freestyle in a time of 4 min 37.8 s behind Murray Rose and Murray Garretty. He did this despite suffering from ear trouble, making him the fifth-fastest swimmer in the world for the 1956 calendar year, which earned him an individual berth in the 400 m event at the Olympics.

The first Western Australian to win Olympic gold, O'Halloran learnt to swim in his hometown of Katanning. He moved to Perth to attend secondary schooling at Guildford Grammar School, where he became more committed to swimming. Competitive swimming was not well developed in Western Australia; races were held in muddy river pools. So in late 1955, O'Halloran moved to the east coast to support his attempt to qualify for the Olympics. His new coach, Frank Guthrie, overhauled his training regimen, and within a year O'Halloran had reduced his times by approximately ten percent. He gained Olympic selection in the relay and the 400-metre freestyle. O'Halloran led off the Australian quartet on the way to a new world record, before placing sixth in the 400-metre.

O'Halloran made his national debut at the 1955 Australian Championships in Adelaide; he finished fifth in the 110 yd freestyle behind future Olympians Jon Henricks and John Devitt.

Upon the recommendation of his parents, O'Halloran moved to Sydney in late 1955 to train with Frank Guthrie in an attempt to qualify for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He boarded with a host family and worked in a wool store to pay his expenses. But his initiation into Guthrie's training program was difficult. After seeing O'Halloran's freestyle technique for the first time, Guthrie asked him, "Can you swim any other stroke? If you are going to swim for me, you'll have to learn all over again."

In 1954, O'Halloran was the state champion in the 110 yd and 220 yd freestyle, and in 1955 he added the 440 yd individual medley title to the successful defence of his freestyle crowns. In his final year at Guildford, O'Halloran was the School Captain, led the swimming and shooting team, and was a member of the rowing eights in the Head of the River.

In 1953, O'Halloran placed second in the 110 yd and 440 yd freestyle events at the Western Australian Championships in the open division and won the 110 yd breaststroke and the 110- and 220 yd freestyle in the junior division. In the process, he cut six seconds from the state record in the 440 yd event. He was selected by the Western Australian team to compete in the Australian Championships, but his parents and headmaster decided that his schooling was more important, much to Gravenall's chagrin.

In 1952, at the age of 15, O'Halloran began to make his mark at the state level. He played a major role in Guildford's win at the interschool championships, placing second in the individual points tally. He won the 100 m freestyle, 50 m breaststroke and 400 m freestyle.

Competitive swimming was slow to develop in Western Australia; the Western Australian Championships second event was held in 1952. And O'Halloran's state debut came in that year. He won the junior 110 yd freestyle and butterfly and the 220 yd freestyle and was second in the open 110 yd freestyle.

Kevin O'Halloran (3 March 1937 – 5 July 1976) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s who won a gold medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.

Born in Katanning, O'Halloran grew up in Kojonup, 40 km (25 mi) to the west of his Katanning. He had two brothers and a sister, and the family lived on a 9,000-acre (36 km) sheep farm established by his grandfather in 1900.