Thomas Fraser-Holmes
Australian Thomas Fraser-Holmes currently swims for the Miami Swimming Club in Miami, Queensland, Australia and is coached by Denis Cotterell. Fraser-Holmes trains along side Olympic legend Grant Hackett.
As a 17 year-old he finished sixth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 400 IM at the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Guam.
2009-10 Season
A year after making the finals in two events at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships Fraser-Holmes competed in his first major international competition medalling in two events at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. He won a gold as part of the Australian 4 x 200 freestyle relay and a bronze in the 200 freestyle.
In the same year he went on to win a bronze in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine.
2011 World Championships
Fraser-Holmes once again earned a spot on the Australian national team and competed in the 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle and the 4 x 200 freestyle relay at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai. He did not qualify for a second swim in either of his individual events while the Australian 4 x 200 freestyle team finished fifth.
2012 Olympic Games
Fraser-Holmes qualified for his first Olympic team in 2012 winning the Australian Olympic Trials in both the 200 freestyle and the 400 IM. At the games he made his first final at an event which saw the very best in the world compete. Fraser-Holmes finished seventh in both the 200 freestyle and 400 IM. He was also a member of the Australian 4 x 200 freestyle relay which finished fifth.
2013 World Championships
Fraser-Homes competed in his second World Championships in Barcelona where he qualified to swim the 200 freestyle, 400 IM and the 4 x 200 freestyle relay. He improved on his results from Shanghai, but was not able to match the placing he accomplished in both individual events in the Olympics, finishing eighth in both the 200 freestyle and 400 IM.
The Australian coaching staff made a shocking tactical error deciding to rest both Fraser-Holmes and Cameron McEvoy for the prelims swim of the 4 x 200 freestyle relay. Without their top two athletes the team failed to qualify for the final.
2013-14 Season
Four years after first standing on the podium at both the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships Fraser-Holmes once again collected hardware at both events. Competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow he took the 200 freestyle and finished second in the 400 IM. He was also part of the Australian 4 x 200 freestyle relay which collected the gold.
Competing on home soil at the Pan Pacific Championships, which were held on the Gold Coast, Fraser-Holmes won the 200 freestyle and was part of the 4 x 200 freestyle relay team which took home the bronze.
2015 World Championships
He qualified to swim both the 200 and 400 IM in Kazan. Much like his past experiences at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships Fraser-Holmes was not at his best when competing in Kazan finishing 10th in both events.
2015-16 Season
He has started the Olympic year in fine form winning both the 400 freestyle and 400 IM at the Australian Short Championships. He took the 400 IM in a time of 3:57.91 setting a new Commonwealth record in the event. He also finished second in the 200 freestyle being beat by McEvoy who took down Ian Thorpe‘s 200 freestyle record which stood for 15 years. In that race Fraser-Holmes was off of Thorpe’s record by 67 one-hundredths of a second posting a time of 1:41.77.
At the 2016 Australian Championships Fraser-Holmes became the first Australian swimmer to book a place in Rio. Going for his seventh straight title in the 400 meter medley, Fraser-Holmes left the field behind on the butterfly leg and didn’t turn back. He took gold and a spot at his second Olympic Games. In a stunning 200 meter freestyle final that got the crowd on its feet, Fraser-Holmes and Cameron McEvoy battled it out for gold. McEvoy had the slight edge for most of the race but Fraser-Holmes had the advantage in the last 50. The pair finished in a dead heat and both took gold, giving Fraser-Holmes his second event for Rio.
2016 Rio Olympics
Fraser-Holmes managed to move up a place from London, going from seventh to sixth in the 400 meter medley. He touched just ahead of his Aussie teammate, Travis Mahoney. At the halfway point, Fraser-Holmes sat in fourth but dropped down a place on the breaststroke leg and again on the freestyle. He touched in 4:11.90.
In the 200 meter freestyle, he missed out on a finals swim by one hundredth of a second, finishing ninth after the semi-finals in 1:46.24. In his final event, Fraser-Holmes joined David Mckeon, Daniel Smith and Mack Horton in the 800 meter freestyle relay. The Australian team combined for fourth place behind the USA, Great Britain and Japan.
2017 Doping Ban
On June 8, 2017, it was announced that Thomas Fraser-Holmes had been handed a hefty 12-month ban by FINA for three missed doping tests. The ban caused him to miss 2018’s Commonwealth Games, taking place in his home country.
2018 Short Course World Championships
After serving his suspension, Fraser-Holmes got redemption in Hangzhou, placing 2nd in the 400 IM (4:02.74) and winning his first international medal since 2015.
2019 World Championships
Thomas Fraser-Holmes started his world champs off by swimming on the prelims of the 4×200 free relay, splitting 1:47.20 to help secure Australia with a spot in the final. At night, the Aussies went on to win gold in a new commonwealth record, earning Fraser-Holmes his first worlds medal in 4 years.
