Gail Neall

Her family had a backyard pool, something that was rather uncommon during the 1950s in Australia.

Neall was initially timid, and would not take her feet from the bottom of the pool.

When asked about who taught her to swim, she would attribute it to her mother Thelma, who could not swim at all.

Neall had her first swimming instruction from Marlene Town, a former Queensland champion.

Despite her progress, her school swimming coach did not regard her as suitable for the Nundah Primary School team, and went to the trouble of filming her breaststroke technique to show the other children what not to do.

Neall's father cited his daughter's personal trait of wanting to prove her sceptics wrong as a major attribute in her future success.

He took her to Arthur Cusack at Brisbane's Centenary Pool, and only two weeks later, she came third in the under-9 division of the 50-metre freestyle at the State Schools Championships.

Soon after, the family moved back to Sydney, and Gail began to swim under Harold Reid at the Frank O'Neill pool at Pymble, New South Wales.

Gail Neall (born 2 August 1955), also known by her married name Gail Yeo, is an Australian former medley swimmer who raced in the 1970s.

In 1965, she joined the Ryde Amateur Swimming Club, which was sold in 1966 to Forbes Carlile.

Carlile was regarded as the leading Australian coach of the time, so she was integrated into his squad.

Neall quickly encountered success, winning her first New South Wales Championship in her age division of the backstroke at 11 in 1966.

Still aged 11, she made her debut in the open State Championships, and came third in the 200-metre backstroke to qualify for the 1967 Australian Championships in Adelaide.

In mid-1968, Neall broke her arm in a gymnastics class at school and was sidelined for more than three months.

She returned in the 1969 New South Wales Winter Championships, where she did well enough to win selection for a state team tour of New Zealand.

In her first overseas meet, she won the 400-metre freestyle after defeating Karen Moras and Denise Langford.

Neall started the 1969-70 summer swimming season on a poor note.

She claimed no victories in the State Championships and was disqualified in the 400-metre individual medley after breaking a state record in the heats.

Three silvers and bronze saw her progress to Adelaide for the national under-16 championships.

She won the 400-metre individual medley, setting the fastest time in the Commonwealth for the year to date.

She showed a wide range of skills by winning bronze in the 200-metre butterfly and a silver in the 200-metre individual medley.

The 1970 Australian Championships doubled as the selection trials for the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

Neall came third and second in the 200 and 400-metre respectively to gain selection, despite having yet to claim a national title.

Neall's stature and physique was extremely small for an elite swimmer, measuring 160 cm and 50.8 kg.

Known for her stroke versatility in the medley and her stamina, her small stature led her to be dubbed "the mighty mite".

She had converted from concentrating on the butterfly event to medley swimming, despite difficulties with the breaststroke leg.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, she claimed a silver medal in the 400-metre individual medley, finishing more than five seconds behind fellow Australian Denise Langford.

However, she had made significant improvements, cutting more than eight seconds from her heat time to finish in a time of 5 m 15.82 s. Her performance in the 200-metre individual medley was not as strong.

She had come second in her heat in a time of 2 m 34.32 s to qualify for the final but swam slower in a time of 2 m 36.78 s to place eighth.

Talbot had overseen her training as the national coach for the Commonwealth Games in 1970.

Neall's father felt that his daughter's performance improved as a result of Talbor's individual attention to his swimmers, thereby building their confidence.

Neall continued her rise after the Commonwealth Games by winning the medley double and a silver medal in the 200-metre butterfly at the 1971 New South Wales Championships.

At the winter nationals, she won the 400-metre medley and took silver in both the 200-metre medley and the 200-metre backstroke.

She finally broke through for her first title at the 1971 Australian Championships in Hobart, taking the 400-metre individual medley in a time of 5 m 16.5 s.

In 1971, she switched to the coaching of Don Talbot at his Hurstville squad, after her parents became increasingly uncomfortable with Carlile, perceiving that he did not have confidence in her ability to win at the highest level.

She won a gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 1972 Summer Olympics in world record time.

The youngest of four children, Neall's family moved to Brisbane in the year of her birth.

Her father Allan was a graduate of the University of Queensland and had found a job with an oil company.

Her brother was 13 years older than she was, while her two sisters were twelve and eight years her senior, respectively.

From her debut until her retirement in 1974, she made the final in every event in which she competed.