Gail Michelle Jonson (born 4 April 1965 in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

) is a former

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

and

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from New Zealand, who won a bronze medal in the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

. She also represented her native country at

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Swimming Career

Racing at the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Jonson finished 5th in heat 2 of the 200 metre individual medley in a time of 5:10.06, four seconds ahead of her compatriot Kim Dewar. The following day, Johnson finished 3rd in heat 2 of the 200 metre individual medley in a time of 2:25.24 narrowly missing the final by 0.14, due in part to a slower backstroke to breaststroke turn. Jonson was part of the 4x100 metre freestyle relay team alongside Melanie Jones, Pamela Croad and Dewar that won the bronze medal in a time of 4:07.41, following the disqualification of both the 1st placed Australian and 2nd placed Canadian teams.The unaware team nearly missed the medal ceremony following a twenty minute delay to check the results and only made the ceremony after the car that was meant to take them back to the village had been delayed. Johnson qualified for the Olympic games in the 400 metre individual medley when racing at the New Zealand Swimming Championships in Hamilton when she finished second to Australian Suzie Landells in a time of 4:57.18. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Jonson finished 7th in the B final and 15th overall in the 400 metre individual medley in a time of 4:58.40, 19th overall in the 200 metre individual medley in a time of 2:25.00 and 19th overall in the 200 metre butterfly in a time of 2:20.55, one place ahead of her compatriot

Anna Doig Anna Maree Doig (born 18 December 1965) is a former freestyle and butterfly swimmer from New Zealand, who represented her native country at 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and common ...

. Jonson had retired by 1985.

References

External Links

New Zealand Olympic Committee
1965 births Living people Olympic swimmers for New Zealand New Zealand female butterfly swimmers New Zealand female medley swimmers Swimmers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Hamilton, New Zealand New Zealand female swimmers Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games 21st-century New Zealand women Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen {{NewZealand-swimming-bio-stub