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Revision as of 11:25, 4 February 2006
| Men's Swimming | ||
| Gold | 1980 | 4x100 metres medley relay |
Mark Tonelli (born April 13 1957) was an Australian backstroke swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold in the 4x100m medley relay at the 1980 Moscow Olympics as a makeshift butterfly swimmer. This occurred after recovering from a previous expulsion from the Australian team for disciplinary problems.
A Queenslander, Tonelli made his international debut at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he won gold and silver in the 100m and 200m backstroke respectively. He also claimed a silver in the 4x100m medley relay, but was eliminated in the heats of the 200m butterfly.
Despite Australia's terrible performance at the 1976 Montreal Olympics where they won just one solitary medal in swimming, Tonelli acquitted himself well, finishing 4th in the 200m and 8th in the 100m. He also competed in the 4x200m relay.
Tonelli's international career appeared to be in disarray when along with two teammates, Mark Kerry and Joe Dixon, he was expelled from the Australian team for the 1978 Commonwelath Games in Edmonton, Canada after a disciplinary breach at a training camp in Honolulu, Hawaii. However, he was again selected for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, being selected in the 100m freestyle, where he reached the semifinals and making the final of the 100m backstroke. He also competed in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Along with Neil Brooks, Mark Kerry and Peter Evans, Tonelli swam the butterfly leg (despite not competing in the 100m butterfly as no Australian was selected for this even)with the Australians finishing 0.22s ahead of the Soviet Union to claim the gold. So much had Tonelli improved since the selection of the team that had he swum the same time in the individual event, he would have claimed the silver medal.
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