If you have no plan, you are treading the path of failure. Phil was the perfect architect, he made plans and his planning was professional and total. And his execution – nothing short of poetic. It was only after Laurie became friendly with Debbie Flintoff-King and her coach and husband Phil King that he became […] The post Master Planner – Phil King appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Stuff the Silver, we are Going for Gold

Master Planner – Phil King

Laurie recounts the first time he ever encountered David Berkoff at the Olympic Games. The closest thing he’s ever seen to a fish, Laurie says. Best known for his powerful underwater start, the eponymous “Berkoff Blastoff”. He completes almost half of the 100m backstroke underwater, taking only a few breaths throughout the race. David is […] The post Champions come in all shapes and sizes – David Berkoff appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Champions come in all shapes and sizes – David Berkoff

Laurie tells the story of the incomparable Dawn Fraser. Dawn helped shape Laurie’s love of swimming and as a starry-eyed kid used to chase her around the Tobruk pool hunting for autographs. Dawn won the most gold medals by any Australian at the Olympics. She was the first woman to break 60 seconds for the 100m […] The post Power of the Pin – Dawn Fraser appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Power of the Pin – Dawn Fraser

Laurie tells the story of Jon Sieben, a young kid who at 17 years of age won the Olympic gold medal in the 200m butterfly, beating not 1 but 2 world record holders. Of all the young swimmers Laurie has coached over the years, Laurie believes that no one has ever attacked his Olympic dream […] The post Jon Sieben – Steep Roads Lead to High Mountains appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Jon Sieben – Steep Roads Lead to High Mountains

In this episode Laurie Lawrence interviews Steve Holland, the greatest distance swimmer Laurie believes the world has ever seen. With Laurie as his coach, Steve (at only 15 years of age) broke world records on numerous occasions. Laurie and Steve speak of their journey together from “shy skinny nervous kid” to the youngest ever world […] The post Bonus Episode – Interview with Steve Holland appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Bonus Episode – Interview with Steve Holland

In this episode, Laurie tells the story of Steve Holland; OAM, Commonwealth Games Champion & Olympic Medalist. With Laurie as his coach, 15-year-old Steve broke the world record for 800m and 1500m freestyle – both in the same race. From a “shy, skinny, nervous kid” to world record holder and champion, this is Steve’s story […] The post Stanley – Steve Holland appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Stanley – Steve Holland

In this episode, Laurie tells us the story of Duncan Armstrong, Commonwealth Games and Olympic Champion, and Order of Australia Recipient. Duncan, coached by Laurie Lawrence, won Olympic gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Laurie takes us back to Duncan’s teens where his swimming career started at A.C.I. Lawrence Swimming Club. He recounts Duncan’s […] The post Doing What the Opposition Won’t – Duncan Armstrong appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Doing What the Opposition Won’t – Duncan Armstrong

Debbie Flintoff-King is a Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games athlete, Order of Australia Recipient and Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee.  In her career, Debbie won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics plus a total of seven medals over three Commonwealth Games appearances. In this episode, Laurie takes us back to 1990 when Debbie was […] The post A True Champion – Debbie Flintoff-King appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

A True Champion – Debbie Flintoff-King

Long-distance freestyle swimmer, Julie McDonald, was coached by Laurie throughout her career. Julie debuted at the 1986 commonwealth Games, securing a silver medal in the 800-metre freestyle. In 1987 at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Brisbane, Julie came head to head with world-record holder, Janet Evans. This episode is a blow by blow account […] The post Belief – Julie McDonald appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Belief – Julie McDonald

It all started with a crying four-year-old Glenn Buchanan, learning to swim in a baby pool in Townsville, alongside his hesitant swim coach, Laurie Lawrence. Fast forward to 1984, and Laurie has a front-row seat to Glenn’s bronze medal performance at the LA Olympics.  Laurie passionately takes you back to where it all began for […] The post One Step at a Time – Glenn Buchanan appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

One Step at a Time – Glenn Buchanan

As the old adage goes, Never Judge a Book by its Cover.  And that couldn’t be any truer when it came to Australian breaststroke swimmer, Peter Evans.  This unassuming swimmer won four Olympic gold medals throughout his career and two Commonwealth Games bronze. Along with teammate, Neil Brooks, they formed part of the ‘Quietly Confident […] The post Never Judge a Book by its Cover appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

Never Judge a Book by its Cover

In 1993 I published my first book of short stories and it was called Lawrence of Australia. It was just short stories of people that I met at the Olympic Games or kids that I’d coached to Olympic Games teams or indeed Olympic gold medals.  The dedication of the front of the book read ‘Citius, […] The post Helen Gray – The Beginning appeared first on Laurie Lawrence.

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Stuff the Silver, we are Going for Gold

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