Robert Stephen Cusack (born 10 December 1950) is an Australian former butterfly and freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s, who won a bronze medal in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City. Born in

Maryborough, Queensland Maryborough ( ) is a city and a suburb in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Maryborough had a population of 15,287. Geography Maryborough is located on the Mary River in Queensland, Australia, approxima ...

, his uncle was

Arthur Cusack Arthur Cusack (born 1919, Maryborough, Queensland; died 2000, Brisbane) was an Australian Olympic swimming coach in the 1950s and 1960s. Early career In 1938, at 18 years old, Cusack became the Secretary of the newly formed Maryborough Amateur ...

, the coach of double Olympic backstroke champion

David Theile David Egmont Theile, AO (born 17 January 1938) is an Australian former backstroke swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won consecutive gold medals in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, the only Australian to do so. H ...

who also came from Maryborough. Cusack combined with

Michael Wenden Michael Vincent Wenden, (born 17 November 1949) is a champion swimmer who represented Australia in the 1968 Summer Olympics and 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1968 he won four medals: gold in both the 100- and 200-metre freestyle (setting world reco ...

Bob Windle Robert George Windle (born 7 November 1944) is an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won four Olympic medals, including an individual gold medal. Windle won the 1500 m freestyle and took bronze in the 4 × 100 m ...

and

Greg Rogers Gregory Francis Rogers (born 14 August 1948) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s, who won a silver and bronze medal in the 4×200-metre and 4×100-metre freestyle relays, respectively, at the 1968 Summer Ol ...

to win bronze in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, behind the United States and the Soviet Union teams. He also competed in the medley relay, missing bronze by 0.1 of a second, the 100-metre butterfly, finishing eighth in the final and the 200-metre butterfly being eliminated in the heats. He first started competitive swimming at age 9, coached by his father Robert Cusack, and then later during his summer vacations he would travel to Brisbane to train with his uncle

at the Centenary Pool, Brisbane where his uncle was the lessee of the pool. His uncle went on to coach him into the Australian Olympic team for the

in Mexico City. He recalled these days training with his uncle in an interview in 2004,Condon, Matt (26 February 2004), "Life as a fifty meter sprint: Robert Cusack", ''Courier Mail Newspaper'', Brisbane " We'd train seven miles a day, three sessions a day all through the holidays. Then at night time we'd get into the diving pools and search the bottom for any loose change." He later went on to become a professional coach commencing at the Indooroopilly Swimming Club in 1977 until his retirement in 2013. He has trained numerous state and national swimmers from the club including his own son Simon Cusack who was an Australian national age finalist. In 2004 in honour of his dedication and commitment to swimming, the community bestowed the honour of naming the swimming pool at Indooroopily after Robert Cusack.

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Indooroopilly Swimming Club Inc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, Robert 1950 births Living people Australian swimming coaches Australian male butterfly swimmers Australian male freestyle swimmers Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic swimmers for Australia Sportspeople from Maryborough, Queensland Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics 20th-century Australian sportsmen Sportsmen from Queensland

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