| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Duncan John D'Arcy Armstrong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1968-04-07)7 April 1968 (age 57) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Western Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Duncan John D'Arcy ArmstrongOAM (born 7 April 1968) is an Australian former competitiveswimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Armstrong is best remembered for winning a gold and silver medal at the1988 Summer Olympics.
Armstrong was born in the Queensland city ofRockhampton,[1] and began swimming at the age of five. Convinced of his potential as a competitive swimmer, his family moved to Brisbane where he began training with the A.C.I. Lawrence Swimming Club as a teenager under flamboyant coachLaurie Lawrence.[2][3] While training with coach Lawrence, Armstrong swam alongside 1984 Olympic gold medallistJon Sieben; he viewed Sieben as a role model, and emulating Sieben's Olympic success became Armstrong's goal. He attended the selectiveBrisbane State High School in Brisbane, where he was captain of the school's swim team.[4] Armstrong graduated from State High in 1985.[4]
Armstrong made his international swimming debut in the1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. He won his first gold medal in the 400-metre freestyle in dramatic fashion by surging from behind after trailing by nearly 25 metres at the midway point of the race.[2] Armstrong earned his second gold medal as a member of the winning Australian team in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.[5]
Armstrong arrived in Seoul for the1988 Summer Olympics ranked 46th in the world,[2] facing a trio of past and current world record holders in themen's 200-metre freestyle:Matt Biondi of the United States,Artur Wojdat of Poland, andMichael Gross of West Germany.[5] Although not favored to win, Armstrong had developed a strong sense of confidence after years of 20 km per day of training. "You look down your lane and know you've done everything you possibly can and you're prepared for this race. Someone has got to win it. Why not me?"[6] As a back-end swimmer, Lawrence planned for Armstrong to swim as close to Biondi's adjacent lane as possible, with Armstrong effectively drafting or surfing the American's wake.[7] At 150 metres, Armstrong was in third place, but he surged past Sweden'sAnders Holmertz and then Biondi in the final 25 metres to claim the gold medal with a new world-record time of 1 minute 47.25 seconds.[2][5][6] Holmertz placed second (1:47.89), and Biondi finished third (1:47.99).[8][9]
Later, in themen's 400-metre freestyle, Armstrong was once again slow out of the blocks, turning last at the 100-metre mark, and still being second-to-last at the 300-metre mark. However he finished strong, and in a photo finish, claimed the silver medal with a time of 3:47.14 behind East GermanUwe Dassler's new world-record time of 3:46.95.[10] He had cut more than five seconds off his previous personal best;[5] all three medallists—Dassler, Armstrong andArtur Wojdat—broke the previous 400-metre freestyle world record.[11] Armstrong was also a member of the Australian team that finished fourth in themen's 4×200-metre freestyle relay.[12] For his Olympic successes, he was awarded theYoung Australian of the Year award for 1988.[13]
Armstrong attended theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for theFlorida Gators swimming and diving team under coachRandy Reese in 1988 and 1989.[14][15] He wonSoutheastern Conference titles in the 500-yard freestyle and the 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays, and was named anAll-American in the 400- and 800-metre freestyle relays in 1989.[14]
Armstrong was again the favourite at the1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. However, a bout ofglandular fever forced him to withdraw. He was selected to compete at the1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as a member of the Australian team in themen's 4×200-metre freestyle relay, but the Australians were disqualified in the event final.[16] He retired from competitive swimming after the 1992 Olympics. In June 1998, at the age of 30, he announced that he would come out of retirement and commence training for the 200-metre freestyle for the2000 Summer Olympics, as Australia was expected to be a favourite in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay event in Sydney. However, after two months of training, Armstrong announced that he would abandon his comeback and retire again.[17]
Armstrong married American Olympic swimmerTami Bruce in 1989; they have two sons.[18][19] Armstrong and Bruce later divorced.[1] He has three children with his second wife, Rebecca.[20] He is a practicing Christian, and often speaks on Christian-related subjects.[20][21]
Armstrong has worked as an expert swimming commentator onChannel Nine'sWide World of Sports; he has presented the swimming coverage forFox Sports, and hostedFox Sports Central on Sunday.[20] He is a well-known swimming safety advocate, and has also coached young swimmers. He has been a commercial spokesman forCentrum multivitamins and Cardiotech fitness equipment.
He received aMedal of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to swimming in 1989,[22] anAustralian Sports Medal in 2000,[23] and aCentenary Medal for service to Australian society through the sport of swimming in 2001.[24] He was inducted into theSport Australia Hall of Fame in 1993,[5] theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame in 1996,[2] and the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame in 2009.[25]
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