Gardens Swimming Club

🏊‍♂️ **LEGENDS OF THE GARDEN — GLENN BUCHANAN** 🏊‍♂️

Continuing our **Legends of The Garden** series, we come to perhaps the most famous swimmer ever produced by Gardens Swimming Club—a dual Olympic medallist whose remarkable journey began right here at **“The Garden,” training side by side with our Head Coach, Luc.**

The same pool. The same home. The same proud club where today’s swimmers continue to chase their own dreams.

⭐ **GLENN ROBERT BUCHANAN — DUAL OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALLIST** ⭐

Born on 19 November 1962 and raised in Mundingburra, Glenn first entered the water as a four-year-old, learning to swim under legendary Townsville coach Laurie Lawrence.

As a young member of Gardens Swimming Club, Glenn trained at **The Garden alongside our Head Coach, Luc**.

From those early sessions, Glenn developed into one of Australia’s leading butterfly swimmers. He progressed through regional, Queensland and national competition, winning multiple championships and establishing himself among the country’s finest swimmers.

His sporting talent even extended beyond the pool into surf lifesaving, where he also won and medalled at Queensland and Australian championships.

In 1983, Glenn represented Australia at the **Pan-Pacific Games in Tokyo**, winning two silver medals. Those performances helped propel him towards the greatest achievement of his competitive career—selection for the Australian team at the **1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles**.

In the final of the men’s 100m butterfly, Glenn produced the race of his life.

Competing against world-record holders Michael Gross of West Germany and Pablo Morales of the United States, he touched the wall in an incredible **53.85 seconds** to claim:

🥉 **OLYMPIC BRONZE — Men’s 100m Butterfly**
🇦🇺 Australian record
🌏 Commonwealth record

But Glenn wasn’t finished.

He then swam the butterfly leg of Australia’s men’s **4 × 100m medley relay**, joining Mark Kerry, Peter Evans and Mark Stockwell to secure his second medal:

🥉 **OLYMPIC BRONZE — Men’s 4 × 100m Medley Relay**

Glenn returned home from Los Angeles as a **dual Olympic medallist** and one of the most accomplished swimmers ever produced by Townsville.

From learning to swim as a four-year-old to standing twice on the Olympic podium, Glenn’s journey showed that a swimmer from North Queensland could rise to challenge the very best in the world.

Before the Australian records, before the Commonwealth record and before those two Olympic medals, there was a young swimmer putting in the laps at **The Garden beside our Head Coach, Luc**.

Decades later, Luc is still here—now helping another generation of Gardens swimmers discover how far their own talent, courage and hard work can take them.

Today’s swimmers train in the same pool, follow the same black line and learn from someone who shared those formative sessions with one of Townsville’s greatest-ever athletes.

Glenn Buchanan’s achievements remain an enduring source of pride for Gardens Swimming Club—and a powerful reminder that even the greatest journeys can begin in our own backyard.

**From The Garden to two Olympic podiums.**
**Our Pool. Our Home. The Garden.** 💚💛

🏅 SHE MADE IT A CLEAN SWEEP! 🏅

Six races. Six gold medals. What an incredible championship for Felicity in the 13 Years MC S10 category! 💚🖤

Felicity completed her perfect meet with another gold in the 200m Freestyle, touching in 2:39.36.

Her mum says it’s the only time she’s ever seen Felicity sweep anything—and of course, it happened in the pool and was coloured gold! 😂🥇

An extraordinary achievement and a championship to remember. Congratulations, Felicity—we’re incredibly proud of you!

🥇 100m IM — 1:24.86
🥇 100m Backstroke — 1:22.22
🥇 50m Freestyle — 31.96
🥇 100m Freestyle — 1:12.28
🥇 50m Backstroke — 37.92
🥇 200m Freestyle — 2:39.36

💚 CELEBRATING THE COACH BEHIND THE RESULTS 💚

While we’ve all been following the incredible performances of our swimmers at the Hancock Prospecting Queensland Short Course Championships, what you don’t always see is the tireless work happening behind the scenes.

Sophie and Saxon have both enjoyed epic meets, and today they stepped up for the 400m Freestyle.

🔥 Saxon produced a massive 10-second PB!
🥈 Sophie stole second place by just 0.01 of a second with what can only be described as the swim of the meet!

For almost a year, Coach Brooke has been working with these two in the early hours of the morning while everyone else sleeps—challenging them, encouraging them and convincing them that they have what it takes to be distance swimmers.

And boy, was she right!

Thank you for all your hard work, tireless effort and dedication, Brooke. These results are a reflection of the belief and commitment you bring to every session.

The Gardens family thanks you! 💚🖤🐙



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🏅 FIVE RACES. FIVE GOLD MEDALS. 🏅

A massive congratulations to Felicity on an incredible performance in the 13 Years MC S10 category at the 2026 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Short Course Championships! 💚🖤

🥇 100m IM — 1:24.86
🥇 100m Backstroke — 1:22.22
🥇 50m Freestyle — 31.96
🥇 100m Freestyle — 1:12.28
🥇 50m Backstroke — 37.92

But she isn’t finished yet—Felicity still has one race remaining: the 200m Freestyle!

Can she make it a clean sweep? We think she can! 🔥

Good luck, Felicity. We can’t wait to welcome you home to the Gardenz! 🐙💚



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David Crisafulli MP
Jarrod Bleijie MP
Natalie Marr MP
Janelle Poole MP
Adam Baillie MP
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🥈 CONGRATULATIONS, SOPHIE! 🥈

A brilliant swim in the 400m Freestyle at the 2026 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Short Course Championships!

Sophie raced to a fantastic silver medal in 5:05.36, taking an incredible 6.66 seconds off her PB—and securing second place by just 0.01 of a second! 😮‍💨🔥

An outstanding achievement and reward for all the hard work. We’re so proud of you, Sophie! 💚🖤🐙🏊‍♀️



Phillip Thompson OAM MP - Serving Our Community
Natalie Marr MP
David Crisafulli MP
Adam Baillie MP
Janelle Poole MP
Nick Dametto Mayor of Townsville
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The song goes, “It’s Raining Men”… but today it’s RAINING PBs! ☔️🔥🏊

Sophie completed another huge program with three races—and three PBs! The highlight was an enormous 4.70-second PB in the 200m Freestyle, finishing in 2:28.12 and earning a brilliant top-10 placing! She also dropped 1.08 seconds in the 100m Free and 1.31 seconds in the 50m Back. What a day! 👏

Johno pulled off a phenomenal 50m Back race, stopping the clock at 38.53 and smashing a massive 2.04 seconds off his PB! 🚀

ONE-SHOT WONDER OLLIE produced the most spectacular backstroke start we’ve ever seen—a full back arch followed by a launch that nearly required air-traffic clearance! ✈️😂 He finished in 40.25 with a fantastic 1.76-second PB!

Sexy Saxon enjoyed another great day in the pool, starting with a brilliant 1.86-second PB in the 50m Back. The highlight, however, was his 200m Free—2:37.64 and a whopping 3.94 seconds off the time he set only two weeks ago at THE GARDEN! Thats 5PBs from 5 races!🔥

BUT ONCE AGAIN, THE DAY BELONGED TO OUR GARDENS GOLDEN GIRL, FELICITY! 🌟🥇

Felicity claimed another gold medal in the 100m Freestyle, bringing her championship tally to:

🥇 4 RACES
🥇 4 GOLDS
🔥 1 RACE REMAINING

Can she bring home the clean sweep tomorrow? Tune in to find out! 👀💚💛

Phillip Thompson OAM MP - Serving Our Community
David Crisafulli MP
Jarrod Bleijie MP
Natalie Marr MP
Janelle Poole MP
Adam Baillie MP
Nick Dametto Mayor of Townsville
7NEWS Townsville
Townsville Bulletin
Swimming North Queensland
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Not all our Gardens representatives at the Hancock Prospecting Queensland Short Course Championships are in the pool… although they may get their feet wet every now and then! 😂💦

Our wonderful Life Members, Kay and Kev, are both here proudly representing the club as officials and helping make this fantastic event possible. 💚💛

They’re proof that you don’t have to be a superstar in the pool for swimming to take you to States! There are so many ways to contribute, get involved and become an important part of our sport. 🏊‍♀️👏

If you want to learn how to become an official and follow in the footsteps of Kev and Kay contact the club and we will let you know how!

Thank you, Kay and Kev, for everything you do for Gardens and the wider swimming community. We’re incredibly proud to have you representing THE GARDEN! 🌿

Phillip Thompson OAM MP - Serving Our Community
David Crisafulli MP
Jarrod Bleijie MP
Natalie Marr MP
Adam Baillie MP
Nick Dametto Mayor of Townsville
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Janelle Poole MP
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🌟 CONGRATULATIONS, SOPHIE! 🌟

What a fantastic swim in the 200m Freestyle at the Hancock Prospecting Queensland Short Course Championships!

Sophie powered home in a brilliant time of 2:2

8.12, smashing an enormous 4.70 seconds off her previous best and securing an outstanding 9th-place finish! 🔥🏊‍♀️

A top-10 finish and a huge PB on the big stage—an achievement to be incredibly proud of! 💚💛

Congratulations, Sophie! Your hard work is paying off, and everyone back home at THE GARDEN is cheering for you! 🌿👏

Phillip Thompson OAM MP - Serving Our Community
David Crisafulli MP
Jarrod Bleijie MP
Natalie Marr MP
Adam Baillie MP
Nick Dametto Mayor of Townsville
Janelle Poole MP
Townsville Bulletin
7NEWS Townsville
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🏊‍♀️ DAY 2 AT THE HANCOCK PROSPECTING QUEENSLAND SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS! 🏊‍♂️

We could finally get a full team photo today because all our swimmers remembered their state shirts… not mentioning any names, Oliver! 😂📸

We’ve already seen some fantastic racing! Sophie smashed one second off her 100m Freestyle time before finishing in the top 10 in the 200m Freestyle with a huge 4.70-second PB! Felicity also continued her golden run, collecting yet another gold medal! 🥇🔥

There’s plenty more racing ahead—good luck to all our swimmers today! Swim fast, race hard and enjoy every moment. 💚💛

We can’t wait to celebrate this incredible team and all their achievements when they return home to THE GARDEN! 🌿🏊

Phillip Thompson OAM MP - Serving Our Community
Jarrod Bleijie MP
Natalie Marr MP
Janelle Poole MP
Adam Baillie MP
Nick Dametto Mayor of Townsville
7NEWS Townsville
Townsville Bulletin
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🏊‍♀️ WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY IN THE POOL! 🏊‍♂️

Saxon had an outstanding day, going three from three with PBs in every event:

🦋 50m Fly – 37.88, a massive 2.36-second PB
🚀 100m Back – 1:24.42, a brilliant 2.40-second PB
🔥 50m Free – 34.03, another terrific PB of 1.32 seconds

Sophie took on the biggest program of them all, securing two PBs and delivering very solid swims in her other events:

💪 100m IM – 1:23.00
🦋 50m Fly – 39.58
🚀 100m Back – 1:22.11, a 0.55-second PB
🔥 50m Free – 32.44, a fantastic 1.03-second PB

Johno produced a very solid splash and dash in the 50m Free, touching in 34.06 and earning a respectable 0.22-second PB! 👏

BUT THE DAY BELONGED TO THE GARDENS GOLDEN GIRL, FELICITY! 🌟🥇🇦🇺

3 RACES.
3 PBs.
3 GOLDS.
2 AUSTRALIAN RECORDS!

Felicity powered through the 100m IM in 1:24.86, smashed 2.46 seconds off her 100m Back PB with a 1:22.22, and dropped another 0.53 seconds in the 50m Free to finish in 31.96.

What an incredible day! 💚💛

We have Ollie to come tomorrow with his “one and done” expertise, plus plenty more racing from the rest of the team.

Can Felicity make it four from four? Tune in here to find out! 👀🔥

Phillip Thompson OAM MP - Serving Our Community
David Crisafulli MP
Jarrod Bleijie MP
Natalie Marr MP
Janelle Poole MP
Adam Baillie MP
Nick Dametto Mayor of Townsville
Rackley Swimming Long Tan
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