Australian Story (1996)

Season 18: Episode 42

Part two of the top rating 'A Feeling For The Water' opens with Murray Rose's move to California to begin a university scholarship. America in the later 1950s was an attractive fit for Rose and his varied interests, including vegetarianism, spirituality and acting. Already a gold medallist three times over in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Rose went on to swim one of his most famous races at Rome in 1960, perfecting his strategy of out-psyching opponents and winning gold again in the 400 metres. Now with a fourth gold medal, Rose looked set to dominate his events for years to come until the controversial decision to exclude him from the Tokyo Olympics team in 1964 – a decision that polarises officials until this day. Before he died, Murray Rose was working on a candid memoir and in this program, some of the sport's biggest names and his close family members offer an insight into a man who, it transpires, was much more than a fast swimmer.