Australian swimming icon Susie O’Neill, affectionately known as “Madame Butterfly,” has officially joined the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) Executive Board.
O’Neill’s appointment was confirmed at the AOC’s annual general meeting in Sydney, where she was named to the board alongside Craig Bingham, chairman of AusCycling. Also re-elected unopposed were President Ian Chesterman and Vice Presidents Evelyn Halls and Matt Allen. Additionally, International Olympic Committee member Jess Fox and AOC Athletes’ Commission chair Brodie Summers both retained their positions.
The updated executive team now includes a blend of returning members and new voices: Chesterman, Halls, Allen, Bingham, O’Neill, Fox, Summers, Alisa Camplin-Warner, Craig Carracher, Kitty Chiller, Michael Murphy, and Elizabeth Scott.
Reflecting on her return to Olympic leadership, O’Neill said in an AOC statement, “Now is a good time in my life to get back involved in the Olympic movement,” adding, “I want to be a part of it, I want to help athletes as much as I can, using my experience as an athlete and other things I’ve learned along the way. It’s a really exciting time to be involved in the Olympics, the Australian Olympic team has been going really well performance wise, there’s a great feeling among athletes when I meet them.”
Chesterman also commented in the statement: “Everyone knows Susie O’Neill the swimmer, but she also has an extraordinary record in sports administration,” he said. “She’s been an IOC [International Olympic Committee] Athletes’ Commission member and IOC member, she’s served on the AOC executive, led an Australian youth Olympic team and was deputy chef de mission in Tokyo. She knows the business and has an incredible ability to help us moving forward.”
51-year-old O’Neill, who earned eight Olympic medals during her illustrious career—including two golds—also amassed 35 national titles and 24 gold medals at major international meets. Her total Olympic medal count places her among Australia’s all-time greats, just behind legends like Emma McKeon, Ian Thorpe, and Leisel Jones.
In front of a home crowd at the 2000 Australian Olympic Trials, O’Neill clocked a new world record in the 200m butterfly, breaking the 19-year standing mark set by another “Madame Butterfly,” Mary T. Meagher. At the Sydney Olympics later that year, she captured a memorable victory in the 200 freestyle—a race outside her usual specialty. She was later beaten in an upset by American Misty Hyman in the 200 butterfly final, after entering as the defending champion in the event.
In 2023, O’Neill returned to competition for the first time since Sydney. At a local meet in Brisbane, she broke the Masters world record in the short course meters 50 fly for the 50–54 age group with a time of 28.95. That swim qualified her for the World Masters Championships in Japan, held in long course meters, where she won gold in 29.08, breaking both the world and championship records for her age group.
