John Monckton

Who is John Monckton?

John James Monckton was an Australian backstroke swimmer of the 1950s, who won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Although he set multiple world records, he never won an Olympic gold medal.

An apprentice carpenter from the New England region of New South Wales, Monckton appeared to be primed to win gold at the 1956 Olympics. At the national team camp in Townsville before the games, he became the first person to swim 400 m backstroke in under five minutes. Although it was not a regularly contested event at international level, it was a promising sign for the Olympics. He also set world records in the 110 and 220yd freestyle events.

At the Olympics, Monckton was the fastest qualifier in the heats and semifinal, but was upstaged in the final by teammate David Theile.

In the absence of Theile, who had retired after the Olympics to study medicine at university, Monckton dominated backstroke swimming, winning the 110yd backstroke event at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff and also the 4×110 yd medley relay. Monckton then prepared for another Olympics in 1960 in Rome, with Theile deferring his studies to defend his Olympic title.