Chris Fydler – Swimming – 1992, 1996, 2000
Chris Fydler’s greatest Olympic moment unfolded at the 2000 Sydney Games when he was a member of the ‘smash-them-like-guitars’ swim relay team.
Seven years earlier, he made history on a different stage as one of the first students to receive a Bond University Blue, the honour handed to student-athletes for achieving outstanding sporting success at the highest level.
Having competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Fydler was a worthy recipient at Bond University’s inaugural Blues Awards and went on to swim at the 1996 and 2000 Games, the latter where he won gold in the 4x100m freestyle after Gary Hall Jr had taunted the Australians by saying his US team would “smash them like guitars”.
“Nothing prepared me for Sydney and the energy that night,” Fydler said. “I’ve seen (the race) a number of times and it still makes me immensely proud. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.”
During a sporting career that saw him represent Australia from 1989 to 2000, Fydler amassed more than 20 national championships including five consecutive 100m freestyle victories.
After graduating from Bond with a Bachelor of Law/Commerce, he was admitted as a solicitor in 1998 and has gone on to forge a successful corporate career, along with being appointed Deputy Chef de Mission for the Australian Olympic teams at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Fydler was awarded Life Membership to Swimming Australia in 2020 in recognition of his signification contribution to the sport.