Kieren John Perkins was born on 14 August 1973 and is an Australian former freestyle swimmer.
33 Facts About Kieren Perkins
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Kieren Perkins specialised in the 1500-metre freestyle and won successive Olympic gold medals in this event in the 1990s.
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Kieren Perkins won his first at the 1992 Olympics which he won in world record time and then at the 1996 Olympics when he defended his title.
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Kieren Perkins attended Indooroopilly State Primary School and graduated from Brisbane Boys' College in the inner city suburb of Toowong.
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Kieren Perkins began swimming regularly at age eight as part of his rehabilitation from a serious leg injury incurred after running through a plate glass window.
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Kieren Perkins won the silver medal in the 1500-metre freestyle behind fellow Queenslander Glen Housman.
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Kieren Perkins was favourite for the men's 1500-metre freestyle at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
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The fastest qualifier for the final, Kieren Perkins broke his own world record by 5 seconds to 14:43.48.
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Kieren Perkins broke the world record as he finished 0.16 behind.
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Kieren Perkins was the Australian flag bearer at the closing ceremony.
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Two weeks after the Commonwealth Games, Kieren Perkins competed in the 1994 World Aquatics Championships in Rome.
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Kieren Perkins later described the Olympic Pool in Rome as his favourite pool.
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At the time of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Kieren Perkins was out of form and long-time Australian rival Daniel Kowalski was regarded as the favourite.
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From lane eight, Kieren Perkins dominated the race being the only swimmer to go under 15 minutes, again relegating Kowalski, who had to fight all the way and just held off Graeme Smith.
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Kieren Perkins became just the third swimmer to win consecutive gold medals in this event.
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Kieren Perkins became the only Australian since Dawn Fraser to defend an individual Olympic championship successfully in Olympics held outside Australia.
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Kieren Perkins carried the flag at the opening ceremony for the 1998 Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur.
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Kieren Perkins was in Monte Carlo in 1993 the night Sydney won the right to host the games and managed to qualify for his 3rd Olympic Games.
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Kieren Perkins joined Frank Beaurepaire as one of two swimmers to win three medals in this event.
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Kieren Perkins is the first person in history to hold the Olympic, World, Commonwealth and Pan Pacific titles simultaneously.
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Kieren Perkins broke over 40 Australian records during a career spanning from 1989 to 2000.
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Kieren Perkins won two of the 16 gold medals Australia won at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.
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Kieren Perkins was one of 6 Australians to win gold medals at both of these Games.
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Kieren Perkins won 2 of the 3 swimming gold Australia won during this time.
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In 2009 Kieren Perkins was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.
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Also in 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, Kieren Perkins was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".
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Kieren Perkins was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Queensland.
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Kieren Perkins was part of the team that conducted a review of the Australian swimming team at the 2012 Olympics.
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In November 2020, Kieren Perkins was appointed as President of Swimming Australia.
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On 17 December 2021, Kieren Perkins was named the new CEO of the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Institute of Sport.
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Kieren Perkins married in 1997 and has three children with ex-wife Symantha.
32.
In June 2012, Kieren Perkins announced that he and Symantha had separated.
33.
In October 2014, Kieren Perkins married Karen Davis in Positano, Italy.