THE Bega Valley Shire Australia Day ambassador this year is dual Olympic swimmer Mark Tonelli.
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He is one of Australia's most versatile swimming all-rounders, having won a record 10 Australian championships in three different strokes – freestyle, butterfly and backstroke.
Mr Tonelli represented Australia in the pool on the international scene for seven years (1973-80) making his national team debut as a 15-year-old competing in the Belgrade World Championships where he placed sixth in the 200-metre backstroke, breaking the Commonwealth record.
Later he also broke Commonwealth records in the 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.
Mr Tonelli won his first major international gold medal the following year as a 16-year-old, winning the 100m backstroke at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games plus two silver medals in the 200m backstroke and medley relay.
He is credited as the first Australian to break the magical minute barrier for the 100m backstroke.
The following year he won a silver medal in the 200m backstroke at the Cali World Championships.
Mr Tonelli competed at his first Olympics at Montreal where he raced in the 100m and 200m backstroke finals with a top placed finish of 4th in the 200m event.
He was appointed captain of the Australian swimming team and honoured after his second Olympics as captain of the Australian Team of the Year.
It was a fitting reward for his leadership before and during the Moscow Olympics where he won his most famous gold medal as the butterfly swimmer on the 4x100 medley relay - the race that was immortalised by ABC commentator Norman May’s inspiring “Gold! Gold! Gold! for Australia”.
After his retirement from competitive swimming, Mr Tonelli has turned to sports media doing Olympic swimming commentary and analysis for TEN, Sky News, ABC, 2GB, 2UE and reporting for Channel Ten News and Sports Tonight.
He also produces and hosts Real Estate News, a national half-hour property television show broadcast weekly on Sky News Business Channel broadcast around Australia and online.
It has been on air since 2008 and has an audience of around 100,000 viewers a month.
Other media credits include hosting Network TEN's home improvements show, Bright Ideas.