Nadine Neumann

Nadine Neumann

Personal information
Full name	Nadine Bernadette Neumann
Nickname(s)	Wobbles, Nadsi
National team	Australia
Born	(1975-12-03) 3 December 1975 Sydney, New South Wales
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke
Club	Ryde-Carlile Swimming Club
Medal record Women's swimming Representing Australia Pan Pacific Championships 1997 Fukuoka 4×100 m freestyle 1997 Fukuoka 4×200 m freestyle Summer Universiade 1995 Fukuoka 200 m breaststroke 1995 Fukuoka 100 m breaststroke

Nadine Bernadette Neumann (born 3 December 1975) is an Australian former breaststroke swimmer who by the age of 20 had already lived a lifetime of success and setbacks. She overcame chronic fatigue syndrome at the age of 15, only to have her dream of an Olympic berth in Barcelona shattered by a broken neck. She fought back to compete for Australia at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where she finished in sixth position, clocking 2:28.34 in the final of the 200-metre breaststroke.^[1] She went on to Captain the Australian Swimming Team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and 1999 Pan Pacific Championships, competing in the 400-metre Individual Medley, 200-metre Butterfly and 800-metre Freestyle events as well as the breaststroke.

Upon retiring from competitive swimming, Nadine had to completely re-define her life. She worked in public relations and marketing before beginning her teaching career at Cheltenham Girls High School as an English teacher. After her move to Newcastle, New South Wales, she taught English to students studying for their trade certificate and HSC concurrently at the Australian Technical College – Hunter and ran a wellbeing program in high schools which she designed to engage, empower and equip young people for a healthy future.

Her memoir, Wobbles – An Olympic Story, won the 2009 IP Picks Award for Best Creative Non-Fiction and was published the same year. She has published a number of other short pieces and is currently working on a picture book for teenagers and a historical fiction novel based on the lives of her two grandmothers. Nadine is also studying to complete a Graduate Diploma in Psychology as a follow-on from her teaching and youth work qualifications.

She lives with her husband and four young children in the Hunter Valley, NSW, and occasionally enjoys sharing her technique tips with young swimmers. She also teaches English and is a well-being counselour at Linuwel School in East Maitland.

References

External links

• Australian Olympic Committee