#144 Bill Kirby

Bill Kirby is an Olympic gold medal winning swimmer from Australia. He was part of the 4x200 Free Relay that won in 2000. They broke that relay's World Record 3 different times (1998, 2000, 2001). Bill has recently moved back to Perth and opened up a swim school & swim team: Kirby Swim. This episode is chuck full of amazing stories -- Bill has an outstanding memory. Test sets, kick sets, Alexander Popov, Michael Klim, Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, Todd Pearson, Don Talbot, and on and on! Enjoy! This episode is sponsored by: Destro Swim Towers! Use code "brett" at checkout to save $150 per double tower! 00:00 Intro 01:45 Where are you coming from? 02:00 Kirby Swim in Perth 02:30 How was/is COVID? 04:20 How'd you get into swimming? 05:00 First love was Surf Life Saving 06:05 The backyard swim school instructor 07:00 City of Perth Swimming Club: Shelley Taylor-Smith, Neil Brooks, Dean Peters 08:50 100 Fly National Champ at 17 09:30 Trip to Sweden 10:30 Don Talbot: "You don't think you can win a medal here do you?" 14:30 Where did you see yourself? 16:58 Test Set: 7x200's 19:30 What were your strengths? 21:00 Leading up to Sydney 23:00 Gennadi & Popov Story Time 28:00 Breaking the 4x200 Free Relay World Record 32:15 2000 Sydney Trials 34:30 Leaving Hackett off the Relay 37:00 Swimming is Objective 39:00 Anchoring 40:45 What's Ian Thorpe like in the Ready Room? 42:00 Did winning Gold change your life? 43:45 2001 Final Year of Swimming 46:30 Don Talbot: Australia Can Be the Best 48:15 Wrapping Up Subscribe, Review, Share! Apple Google Spotify YouTube Connect | Brett Hawke On Instagram @hawkebr On Twitter @insidewithbh On Facebook @insidewithbh Connect | Bill Kirby Kirby Swim Produced by: SWIMNERD