The Australian Town of Olympic Athletes

The Olympics in Paris begin in just a few days time, on the 26th of July, and many of the stories in the media over the past few months have been all about which athletes have made it into the Australian team and how they’re expected to perform.

Last year we were surprised during our travels through Queensland to find out just how many Olympic athletes have hailed from Townsville in the north of the state, and the importance that the town has played in the success of the Australian swimming team.

Townsville is around 1350 kilometres north of Brisbane and its tropical climate and consistent warm days throughout the year, make it a popular destination for southerners to go to for holidays each year, and it seems it’s conducive to various athletes too.

The Tobruk Memorial Baths are situated on The Strand in Townsville and this outdoor swimming pool venue even played host to 4 Olympic teams this year, who used the facilities for training. Outside of the pool complex there’s an honour board which pays tribute to all the Townsville athletes who have represented their country at the Olympics over the years.

It’s not only swimming and water sports that they have competed in though. Townsville has had athletes represent in hockey, weightlifting, boxing, basketball, beach volleyball, athletics and more.

When you enter the Memorial Baths complex, you walk through the Hall of Champions which houses photographs commemorating previous Olympic training camps and the pool’s close association with the Olympic Games.

During the 1950s – 60s, Australian Olympic swimming teams trained in Townsville to escape the cold southern winters and the non-heated pools back in that time, and it proved to be a winning formula for them. A measure of their success was the eighteen world record times either set or broken at the pool during those times.

The Tobruk Memorial Baths and honour board which contains the names of more than 30 athletes, can be found at 32 The Strand, Townsville and the pools are open 7 days a week, if you want to swim where the champions have.

Go Team Australia!

Glenys

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6 thoughts on “The Australian Town of Olympic Athletes”

  4. interesting and timely post! I didn’t know the Olympic swim team had again trained in Townsville this year. It’s true that all over the country the regions have produced more than their share of great athletes.

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