Graeme Thomas Brewer (born 1 December 1958) is an Australian former freestyle

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 ...

of the late 1970s and early 1980s who won a bronze medal in the 200-metre freestyle at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. In all he won 13 Australian titles. A native of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Brewer attended

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...

, graduating in 1976. He first gained attention in the

surf lifesaving Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, in ...

world when he won consecutive Australian junior ironman championships in 1976 and 1977, competing for the

Tamarama Tamarama is a beachside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tamarama is 6 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. Tamarama has a small ocean b ...

club from Sydney's eastern suburbs. Switching to competition in the pool, Brewer gained prominence at Canada's

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from 3 to 12 August, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with a ...

in Edmonton, winning a silver medal in the 200-metre freestyle and one of each colour in the three relays. In Moscow, Brewer claimed a bronze medal behind the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

pair of

Sergey Kopliakov Sergey Viktorovich Koplyakov (; born 23 January 1959) is a Russian-Belarusian swimmer who won two gold medals competing for the Soviet Union at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Sergey Koplyakov moved into top ranks of world swimming i ...

and Andrei Krylov. He came eighth in the

100-metre freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics, symbolizing the pinnacle of speed and athleticism in swimming competitions. The first swimm ...

and seventh in the 4x200-metre freestyle relay along with

Mark Tonelli Mark Lyndon Tonelli (born 13 April 1957), whose birth name was Mark Lyndon Leembruggen, is an Australian former backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold in the 4×100-metre medley relay at the 1980 M ...

Mark Kerry Mark Anthony Kerry (born 4 August 1959) is an Australian former backstroke and freestyle swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won three Olympic medals, including a gold in the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Summer Olympics a ...

and

Neil Brooks Neil Brooks (born 27 July 1962) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer best known for winning the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Summer Olympics, 1980 Olympics in Moscow as part of the ''Quiet ...

. He narrowly missed the final of the 400-metre freestyle. Brewer was best known for being a member of the so-called "Mean Machine" competing 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 ...

in Brisbane, when he combined with

, Greg Fasala and

Michael Delany Michael William Delany (born 22 August 1965) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1980s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Delany was best known for being ...

to claim gold in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, gaining their nickname after collectively shaving their heads for the race. He also won a gold in the 4x200-metre freestyle relay. He competed at the

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 ...

in the 4x200-metre freestyle relay, coming fourth.

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