Kevin O'Halloran (1937–1976) was an Australian
freestyle swimmer of the 1950s, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the
1956 Summer Olympics in
Melbourne. The first Western Australian to win Olympic gold, O'Halloran learnt to swim in his home town of
Katanning. He moved to
Perth to attend secondary schooling at
Guildford Grammar School, where he became more committed to swimming. Competitive swimming was not well developed in Western Australia; races were held in muddy river pools, so in late 1955, O'Halloran moved to the east coast to support his attempt to qualify for the Olympics. His new coach,
Frank Guthrie, overhauled his training regimen, and within a year, O'Halloran had reduced his times by approximately 10%. He gained Olympic selection in the relay and the 400 m freestyle. O'Halloran led off the Australian quartet on the way to a new world record, before placing sixth in the 400 m. Thereafter, O'Halloran's career was beset by ear problems, and he retired in 1958 after failing to qualify for the
1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In 1976, O'Halloran died after tripping and accidentally shooting himself. (
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