29 Facts About David Theile

David Theile subsequently became a leading surgeon and medical administrator.

David Theile learnt to swim at the age of five, along with his three sisters after being enrolled in a swimming program by his parents.

David Theile developed a love of swimming, which relieved him from the boredom of the town, as "the local pool gave us something to do".

David Theile won Queensland junior and open titles in all four strokes.

David Theile won the 110 yd Queensland backstroke title before retaining his Australian title in Sydney.

David Theile joined the Australian team at the 12-week winter camp in Townsville, where he worked under the tutelage of Forbes Carlile.

At a later Brisbane event, he won again in 64.5 s, but Monckton defeated him in Sydney with a new record time of 63.3 s However, Theile later struck back with a time of 62.9 s at the final trials in Melbourne, setting a new world record for long-course events.

David Theile won his heat to qualify second fastest for the semifinals behind Monckton, who set an Olympic record in his heat.

David Theile used a conventional in the semifinals as did the others, coming second to Monckton to progress to the final.

Subsequent to the Olympic Games were the 1957 Queensland Championships, where David Theile was disqualified for the only time in his career, after officials ruled that he had performed an illegal turn.

David Theile resumed his university studies in medicine, and skipped the Australian Championships, allowing Monckton to win both the 110 yd and 220 yd backstroke events.

David Theile skipped the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff to pursue his academic career.

David Theile subsequently returned to medical studies for the rest of the year, when he moved to Warwick, Queensland, south of Brisbane to resume training with Cusack.

David Theile won the 1960 Australian Championships before deciding on an attempt to defend his Olympic title.

David Theile was able to train with Cusack in Townsville, who was appointed as a team coach.

David Theile won the final trials in Townsville to gain selection for his second Olympics, along with Monckton.

David Theile arrived in Rome as an outsider, despite being the defending champion as he had not regained his form of four years prior, with Robert Bennett and Frank McKinney of the United States posting faster times.

David Theile made a good turn, lengthening his lead to half a body length, before holding off a late surge to claim consecutive gold medals, defeating McKinney by just 0.2 s, setting a new Olympic record in the event.

David Theile completed his medical studies in 1962, and was a member of the organising committee of the 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane.

David Theile undertook post-graduate training as a Resident and Surgical Registrar at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and was awarded a fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1967.

David Theile holds three honorary professorships, and is an honorary member of the medical academies of both Singapore and Malaysia.

David Theile has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the University of Queensland, and is an Officer of the Order of Australia.

David Theile is currently appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Metro South Health Service District.

Apart from his clinical practice, David Theile began to take an active part in professional affairs.

David Theile served on the Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Committee.

David Theile became Chairman of the Division of Surgery at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in 2000, and in 2006 became its Clinical Chief Executive Officer.

In 2001, David Theile was awarded the highest honour from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Sir Hugh Devine Medal.

David Theile was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.

David Theile was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1997 for his services to surgery and received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.