Portal:Cheshire/Selected biography/15
Neil Brooks (born 27 July 1962) is a former sprint freestyle swimmer. Born to working-class parents in Crewe, Brooks emigrated to Australia as a toddler. He started swimming lessons after nearly drowning in a childhood accident.
Brooks formed part of the Australian team for the 1980 Olympics (commemorative badge pictured) in Moscow. The peak of his swimming career came in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, as part of the Quietly Confident Quartet, when he caught and passed the Soviet Union's Sergey Kopliakov during the anchor leg to seal a narrow victory for Australia. This victory remains the only time that the United States did not win the event at Olympic level. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he gained silver and bronze medals for relay events. Brooks also won gold and silver medals in the individual 100 m freestyle events at the 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games, respectively. Brooks' career was marred by disciplinary problems, and he was suspended following the 1986 Commonwealth Games, ending his international career. He subsequently worked as a news presenter and sports commentator.