Swimming Australia Appoint Chris Fydler OAM as President

Swimming Australia announced the election of Chris Fydler OAM as President, effective immediately.

Fydler, who was awarded life membership of Swimming Australia in 2020, had sat on the board as Interim Chair and his appointment was welcomed by the Australian sporting community.

The Olympic gold medallist and qualified lawyer was also a board member of Swimming Australia from 2006-2010, and a member of the FINA’s (World Aquatics) Disciplinary Panel from 2009-2017 and Ethics Panel from 2018-2023. 

In addition to serving as President of Swimming NSW, he was deputy chef de mission for the Australian Olympic team at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games and served on the Board of the NSW Institute of Sport from 2017-2023 where he was also a scholarship holder.

As Dolphin number 375, Fydler represented Australia from 1989-2000 and won gold at every major international competition (Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Pan Pacific championships).  At the Sydney 2000 Olympics, he was a member of the gold-medal winning 4x100m freestyle relay team.

Chief executive officer of Swimming Australia Rob Woodhouse said: “I’m delighted with the Board’s appointment of Chris Fydler as President of Swimming Australia.  Few people have the breadth and depth of his experience and knowledge across all facets of our sport, having served on committees and boards at club, state, national and international level.”

“Chris’s permanent appointment continues the strong momentum of our sport as we build towards LA and to Brisbane 2032, and his thorough understanding of the swimming landscape will importantly identify the opportunities in front of us to inspire our community from the grassroots to the elite.”

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) worked closely with Swimming Australia’s nominations committee throughout the assessment process and ASC Executive General Manager, Sport and Community Capability Richard McInnes added: “With Chris in place as President, we look forward to supporting Swimming Australia to flourish both in and out of the water.”

Fydler, still an active swimmer who will compete at the World Masters Championships in July, has a strong vision for the sport of swimming in Australia and said: “I’m particularly passionate about this sport and about providing young Australians the opportunity to reach their potential.”

“We have an opportunity to position swimming as the number one sport in Australia. To be a beacon of innovation, commercially secure, and globally recognised as providing sustainable pathways and high-performance results.  It is an honour to lead this organisation with the single purpose of inspiring Australia through swimming”.

Swimming Australia