Ilsa Konrads (; born 29 March 1944) is an Australian former freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

. In her career, she set 13 individual world records, and after her swimming career ended, was the Australasian editor of '' Belle'' magazine. Along with her brother

John Konrads John Konrads (; 21 May 1942 – 25 April 2021) was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world records, and after his swimmi ...

, who also set multiple world records, and won gold in the 1500-metre freestyle, they were known as the ''Konrad Kids''.

Career

Born in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, Konrads emigrated with her parents Jānis and Elza, grandmother, elder sister Eve, and elder brother John (Jānis) in August 1944, initially to Germany. This came after Latvia's occupation by German troops during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and then re-occupation by Soviet troops. Living in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

until 1949, their application to immigrate to the United States was refused on account of the large size of the family. They were relocated to a camp at Uranquinty, which was previously a base for the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

, in rural western New South Wales. There her father Jānis taught the children to swim, fearing that they could drown in the many watering holes and dams in the camp. Jānis secured a job in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

as a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

, and the family settled first in Pennant Hills and then

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 19 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Bankstown is the administrative centre ...

. Elza enrolled in the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

's dentistry program, as her qualification from the

University of Riga University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a public university, public research university located in Riga, Latvia. The university was established in 1919. History The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia ( ...

was not recognised, but withdrew due to the demands of raising three children. Ilsa and her siblings attended

Revesby Primary School Revesby can mean the following places :- * Revesby, New South Wales, a suburb in the City of Bankstown, Australia * Revesby, Lincolnshire, a civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England ** Revesby Abbey, a Cistercian monas ...

, where one of the schoolteachers was

Don Talbot Donald Malcolm Talbot (23 August 19333 November 2020) was an Australian Olympic swimming coach and sport administrator. He coached national teams for Canada, the United States and Australia. Early life Talbot was born on 23 August 1933 as t ...

. Talbot was an assistant to Frank Guthrie at the Bankstown Swimming Pool. Every day, Ilsa and her elder brother John cycled to the Bankstown pool before sunrise, for a two-hour training session, before returning home for breakfast and then attending school. After school, they would cycle back to the pool and repeat the training regimen. In 1958, the results of Talbot's regime training began to materialize, when at the age of 13, she broke the 800-metre and 880-yard freestyle world records at the

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 ...

championships, and then defeated

Lorraine Crapp Lorraine Joyce Thurlow, (born 1 October 1938), née Crapp, is a former Olympic swimming champion representing Australia. In world swimming history, Crapp earned a place as the first woman to break the five-minute barrier in the 400 m freestyle ...

to become the first woman to complete 440-yard under five minutes. She then defeated Crapp and

Dawn Fraser Dawn Fraser (born 4 September 1937) is an Australian freestyle champion swimmer, eight-time olympic medallist, a 15-year world record holder in the 100-metre freestyle, and former politician. Controversial, yet the winner of countless honours, ...

at the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: ''Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad'' 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 to 26 July 1958. It was the sixth edition of what would come to be known as the Commonwealth Games, the ...

in Cardiff to win the 440-yard freestyle event. In the two years preceding the

, she set world records in the 440-yard, 400-metre, 1500-metre and 1650-yard events. At the Olympics, she suffered from nerves and was eliminated in the heats of the 100 m freestyle, and managed fourth in the 400 m freestyle, some 12s slower than her personal best. She collected a silver in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, along with Fraser, Crapp and

Alva Colquhoun Alva Merlin Colquhoun (married name Wyatt, born 28 February 1942) is an Australian former freestyle and butterfly swimmer of the 1950s, who won a silver medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. She is perha ...

. Her last competition was at the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Western Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North ...

in Perth, Western Australia, where she claimed silver in the 440 yd event. After her retirement from competitive swimming, Konrads went into journalism, and eventually became the editor of '' Belle'', from 1975 to 1979, a leading Australian interior design magazine, and ''Vogue Living'', from 1979 to 1984 and 1992 to 1999. Konrads also worked for the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' newspaper, and since 1999 has been running her own business.

Honours

Konrads was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1987. In 2000, she received an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konrads, Ilsa 1944 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Australia Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportswomen from New South Wales Swimmers from Riga Latvian emigrants to Australia Latvian World War II refugees Olympic silver medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games World record setters in swimming Australian female freestyle swimmers Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Swimmers from Sydney Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in swimming Medallists at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games 20th-century Australian sportswomen

Career

Honours

See also

References