Susan O'Neill, AM (born 2 August 1973) is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career.
Early life
Susan (Susie) O'Neill was born on 2 August 1973 in Mackay, Queensland, to Trish and John O'Neill. She has two siblings, a brother and a sister. Her family moved to Brisbane and she was educated at Lourdes Hill College (LHC) in Hawthorne.[1] Whilst at LHC, O'Neill excelled in sport, setting school records in 50 m and 100 m butterfly, freestyle, and backstroke. She was also LHC cross country champion and set records for the 13 years 800 m in 1986 and for the 15 years 400 m in 1988 for athletics. All these records still stood as of 2011.[1]
Swimming career
O'Neill won the 200m butterfly at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 200m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She has won 35 Australian titles, 8 Olympic medals including 2 gold, and 24 gold medals in major international competitions. Only Emma McKeon, Ian Thorpe and Leisel Jones have won more Olympic medals for Australia.
At her international debut at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, she won two medals (gold and silver), and continued to add to her medals cache at every international competition until her final Olympics. In front of a home crowd at the 2000 Olympic Games Trials she broke the 19-year standing world record of another "Madame Butterfly", Mary T. Meagher, in the 200m butterfly, but was beaten in an upset at the 2000 Olympic Games by American Misty Hyman.
She trained under Bernie Wakefield until 1994, then Scott Volkers at the Commercial Swimming Club in Brisbane.
On 10 March 2007 during the 12th FINA World Championship, O'Neill was honoured by the dedication of the temporary swimming pool in the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne named after her for the duration of the competition.
On 14 February 2018, O'Neill released a single entitled "My Heart Goes Boom".[4]
In May 2019, O'Neill was announced as Australia's joint Deputy Chef de Mission for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo,[5] with fellow Olympians, Evelyn Halls and Kim Brennan.
1997 – Australian Day Honours, O'Neill was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) "for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Atlanta Olympic Games, 1996."[7]
2009 – inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[14]
10 June 2009 - as part of the Q150 celebrations, O'Neill was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for her role as a "sports legend".[15]
2012 – elevated to become Sport Australia Hall of Fame's 34th Legend of Australian Sport.[13]
2018 – appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in Australia Day Honours "For significant service to swimming at the elite level, as a mentor and role model, and to the community through support for charitable organisations."
O'Neill married Cliff Fairley, who works as an ophthalmologist, in 1998. They have two children.
Philanthropy
O'Neill and her husband, Cliff Fairley, help generously to raise awareness for the Fred Hollows Foundation, and are one of its most distinguished ambassadors.[17] The Fred Hollows Foundation is an international nonprofit organisation that educates surgeons on how to cure avoidable blindness within underserved communities and countries.[17]
