Kieren Perkins (born August 14, 1973), was one of the world's best-ever long-distance swimmers, winning two Olympic gold medals in 1992 and 1996 in the 1500-metre front crawl, and a silver medal in 2000.
Born in Brisbane, Australia, Kieren began swimming regularly at age eight as part of his rehabilitation from a serious leg injury (after running through a plate glass window). At age 13 his potential became obvious, and with coach John Carew guiding him he won his first national title in 1989 and a Commonwealth title by 1990.
By 1992 he dominated the 1500-metre event, demolishing a long-standing world record. He dominated the event at the Barcelona Olympic games, lowering the record to 14 minutes, 43 seconds - a massive improvement.
At the time of the 1996 Olympics, Perkins was out of form and long-time Australian rival Daniel Kowalski was regarded as the favourite. Barely qualifying for the final, it was later revealed that Perkins felt unwell and considered not swimming. From lane eight, Perkins dominated the race, again relegating Kowalski to his perennial bridesmaid position.
After his Atlanta triumph, some commentators were surprised when Perkins decided to continue competing, particularly as the rise of Grant Hackett, yet another Australian distance swimmer, made it seem unlikely that Perkins could win again. However, the lure of a home Olympics was too much for Perkins. Hackett completed his rise to the top by beating Perkins, who took the silver medal in a respectable time under 15 minutes.
Perkins has always presented a clean-cut, well-spoken image to the public, similar in many ways to Ian Thorpe. Since his retirement, he has occasionally worked in the broadcast media.
He is married with, as of 2004, two children.
