Laurie Lawrence

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Laurie Joseph Lawrence (born October 14, 1941) ^[1], is an Australian swimming coach. He was also a Wallaby (Austrralian rugby Union representative) in 1964

Lawrence has coached Australia’s elite swimmers at Brisbane’s 1982 and Edinburgh’s 1986 Commonwealth Games, as well as Los Angeles 1984, Seoul’s 1988 and Barcelona’s 1992 Olympic Games. His coaching achievements boast 10 gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze medals from swimmers he has directly assisted at Olympic level. Swimmers he has coached boast 23 world records. His best known protégés include, Steve Holland, Tracey Wickham, Jon Sieben and Duncan Armstrong.

Lawrence's coaching achievements, his communication skills, and his unique brand of humour saw the Australian Olympic Committee make him an integral part of the Australian team at the Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Lawrence was part of the Australian Olympic team with the brief to unite, inspire, motivate and relax the entire team. Laurie will once again join the Australian Olympic Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.Laurie’s successes have today made him one of the world's most sought after motivational speakers ^[2].

Laurie Lawrence appeared on a huge screen, at the Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony, where he is shown coaching 'swimmers' during the "Deep Sea Dreaming" display.

Drowning is the greatest cause of accidental death in the under five age group in Australia. In 1988, Lawrence launched the Kids Alive ^[3] Drowning Prevention Campaign to combat the problem. With support from the Federal Government and community service advertising, the program runs nationally and, as a result, drowning statistics have reduced significantly. According to Lawrence, there is still a long way to go. "Our target is zero deaths by drowning."

Lawrence’s passion for baby swimming began after the birth of his first child in 1975. With help from his three children, he carefully researched, documented and developed a program which is now internationally recognised ^[4]. Lawrence uses his Swim Schools ^[5] to teach children of all ages to love the water, be safe in the water and give them a relaxed natural stroke to last a lifetime.

[edit] Family history

Laurie's father, "Stumpy", was for many years the manager of the famous Tobruk pool on Townsville’s foreshore. During 1956 and 1960 the Tobruk pool was the training venue for the Australian Olympic Team. Swimming greats like Dawn Fraser, Lorraine Crapp, Jon Henricks, John Konrads, Murray Rose, David Theile and John Devitt were some of the many athletes who trained there. As a young kid, Lawrence was steeped in this environment. This was the beginning of Lawrence’s love and passion for swimming.