Neil Brooks is a swimmer who has competed for Australia. He competed at the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
Brooks arrived at his first Olympics in Moscow as a top freestyle sprinter among the Australian swimmers. First, he tied for the top spot with Per Johansson in their heat to enter the semifinal round of the 100 metres freestyle, but he suffered a severe asthma attack and had to be hospitalized. Although he swam the semifinal race with a higher heart rate, Brooks slipped to seventh and fourteenth overall spot in his assigned heat, missing the final by 0.83 seconds. Amid the absence of the American swimmers due to the boycott, the 4x100 metres medley relay became the most critical point of Brook's Olympic career. There, he produced a timely dive on the freestyle leg and surfaced almost even with Sergei Kopliakov. He moved marginally ahead of Kopliakov with a halfway turn to boot the Australians to the front. He continued to chase the Soviets with 25 metres left until he sprinted away once again to seal a first gold medal for the Australian team of Peter Evans, Mark Kerry, and Mark Tonelli, dubbed as the Quietly Confident Quartet, in 3:45.70.
Brooks missed the cut with a third spot behind Michael Delany and Mark Stockwell in his signature race at the Australian trials for Los Angeles 1984, but he was soon selected as part of the relay squads. In the 4x100 metres freestyle relay, the fledging Australian team, soon dubbed by the media as the Mean Machine, showed their intention to deny the Americans a gold for the first time at an Olympic level, setting a new record under the 3:20 barrier during the heats. Brooks recorded a fastest lead-off split ahead of Matthew Biondi before Stockwell produced a 0.41-second deficit to beat the hosts by the closest margin. In the final, he completed his second leg in 49.36, the fourth-fastest split of the race, to hand the Australians a 0.07-second lead over the hosts, but their lead was fleeting as Biondi and the hosts' top sprinter Ambrose Gaines booted the Americans to the front for the gold with a new world record, leaving Brooks and his teammates Delany, Stockwell, and Gregory Fasala with a silver by 0.65 seconds. Brooks also posted the fastest freestyle split of 49.61 ahead of Thomas Jager by 0.4 seconds in the 4x100 metres medley relay heats before Stockwell replaced him on the Australian men's team that finished third in the final.
Olympic Results[]
Year | Event | Rank |
---|---|---|
1980 | Men's 100m freestyle | 14th |
Men's 4x100m medley relay | ||
1984 | Men's 4x100m freestyle relay | |
Men's 4x100m medley relay |
1980[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
100 metres freestyle | Heats | 52.11 |
Semifinal | 52.70 | |
Final | Did not advance | |
4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:48.94 (50.39 split) |
Final | 3:45.70 (49.86 split) |
1984[]
Discipline | Round | Time | |
---|---|---|---|
4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:19.94 (50.36 split) |
OR |
Final | 3:19.68 (49.36 split) |
AR | |
4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 3:43.93 (49.61 split) |
|
Final | 3:43.25 (Reserve) |
AR |