Murray Rose

full name:

Murray Rose

bio:

Australian Olympic Swimming gold medalist in 1956 and 1960. In the late 1950s he was untouchable over 400 metres and 1,500 metres, setting a total of 15 world records.

also known as:

Known as the "seaweed streak" because of his vegetarianism.

born:

Jan. 6, 1939

family:

physical attributes:

sport:

swimming

coach:

team / club:

event:

1500m freestyle

personal bests:

achievements:

• A total of four Olympic gold medals, a silver and a bronze.
• At the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, Rose won three gold medals (in the 400m, the 1,500m and the 4x200m freestyle relay)
• In 1960, he won gold in the 400m, 2nd in 1500m, and third in the 4x200m relay.

what you may not know:

• At the time of his Olympic wins, Rose was Australia's best known vegetarian. He ate no meat at all, although unlike strict vegetarians, he did eat eggs and cheese and drank goats milk.
• He was not able to stay at the Olympic village as it could not cater for his vegertarian diet.
• Rose was only 17 when he won his three gold medals in 1956
• After his career in the pool finished, Rose created a successful career for himself in sports marketing.
• Rose's Olympic record for the 400m in Melbourne was 44 seconds behind Ian Thorpe's winning time in Athens.