Frederick Lane

Who was Frederick Lane?

Frederick Claude Vivian Lane was an Australian swimmer.

Lane, from Manly, New South Wales, attended high school at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, and was the first Australian to represent his country in swimming at the Olympic Games, although he was actually a part of the British team when he competed at the 1900 Paris Games and won two gold medals.

He first won the 200 m freestyle, clearly beating the Hungarian Zoltán Halmay. His second final was just 45 minutes later, the discontinued 200 m obstacle race, where he beat Otto Wahle from Austria.

Lane, who had won national titles in Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain, was also the first swimmer to finish the 100 yards in less than a minute, clocking 59.6 s in 1902.

It was rumored that Lane, by the end of his career, swore never to swim again.