Robert Hurley

Hurley placed 3rd in the 400m Freestyle behind Grant Hackett and Craig Stevens, 4th in the 200m Backstroke, 5th in the 100m Backstroke, and 4th in the non-selection 50m Backstroke.

Hurley also very narrowly missed individual finals in the 400m (11th) and 800m Freestyle events (10th).

At the Berlin stop, Hurley placed 3rd in the 400m Freestyle in a time of 3:38.35 which was the 3rd fastest time ever by an Australian.

The race was won in World Record time by Germany's Paul Biedermann in 3:32.77.

At the Singapore stop, Hurley defeated Olympic Champion Oussama Mellouli in the 1500m Freestyle in a time of 14:32.47, the third fastest time ever by an Australian.

Robert "Bobby" Hurley (born 26 September 1988) is an Australian swimmer and former World Record holder in the short-course (25 metre pool) 50 metres Backstroke and 2012 World Champion in the same event.

Hurley is a sprint backstroke and middle and distance freestyle specialist and was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder 2007–2009.

At the 2007 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Maui, Hurley won 2 Gold in the 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay, 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay and 1 Silver in the 200m Freestyle.

At the 2008 Olympic Trials in Sydney, Hurley had a few near misses at making his first Olympic Team.

At the 2008 FINA World Championships (25m) in Manchester, England, Hurley competed in six events and picked up a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay as a heat swimmer.

At the 2008 Oceania Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, Hurley had a breakout meet.

Here he won 8 medals, 6 Gold (200m, 400m Freestyle, 50m, 100m, 200m Backstroke, 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay) and 2 Silver (4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay, 4 × 100 m Medley Relay), also placed 4th in the 100m Freestyle and broke 8 Championship Records.

At the 2008 Australian Short Course Championships in Melbourne, Hurley showcased his dominance winning 6 medals, including 5 gold, and extended his range all the way to the 1500m Freestyle.

He is the only person to win medals across every distance at an Australian Championships.

At the 2008 FINA World Cup (25m), Hurley shot to fame after breaking the short course World Record in the 50m Backstroke in his hometown of Sydney, Australia, in a time of 23.24.

Hurley also broke the Australian Record in the 100m Backstroke at the Singapore stop of the World Cup in a time of 50.28, narrowly missing Ryan Lochte's World Record of 49.99.

In 2009 he won a bronze medal as a team member on the 4 × 200 m Freestyle relay at the FINA World Championships in Rome.

He has five FINA World Championship medals to his name, two gold, one silver and two bronze.

At the 2009 Australian Championships in Sydney, Hurley won his first long course Australian title on the first day in the 400m Freestyle.

His winning time of 3:46.64 moved him into fourth on the Australian All-Time Rankings only behind Olympic Greats Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett and Kieren Perkins.

He also finished with silver in the 1500m Freestyle, bronze in the 100m and 200m Backstrokes and 4th in the 200m Freestyle, to secure selection on the Australian Swimming Team.

At the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy, Hurley competed in 5 events and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay Final with teammates Kenrick Monk, Tommaso D'Orsogna and Patrick Murphy.

Hurley swam the second leg in 1:46.47.

The Australian quartet broke the Commonwealth and Australian Records in a time of 7:01.65, a record that still stands.

The race was won in World Record time by Team USA led by Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, closely followed by Russia.

At the 2009 Australian Short Course Championships in Hobart, Hurley continued his short course dominance winning 5 medals, gold in the 50m, 100m Backstroke and 800m Freestyle, and bronze in the 200m and 400m Freestyle.

At the 2009 FINA World Cup (25m) Hurley won 4 medals across three stops.

At the Stockholm stop of the World Cup, Hurley broke the Australian Record in the 100m Backstroke in a time of 50.19.

He also placed 4th in the 100m Freestyle, 6th in the 50m Freestyle, and won the B Final of the 400m Freestyle.

He also placed 8th in the 100m Backstroke final, and was the youngest swimmer in the field.

At the 2010 Australian Championships in Sydney, Hurley defended his 400m Freestyle title and added two more national championships in the 800m and 1500m Freestyle events.

He came close to being just the sixth Australian to break the 15 minute barrier in the 1500m Freestyle, winning the event by 14 seconds in a time of 15:00.96.

He also won the 400m and 1500m Freestyle events at the 2010 Australian Short Course Championships in Brisbane, taking his tally of National Titles to 14.

At the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, Hurley finished 4th in the 800m Freestyle, 7th in the 400m Freestyle, and 10th in the 1500m Freestyle.

At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, Hurley suffered food poisoning in the athletes village, and missed finals of the 400m Freestyle.

Hurley won two gold medals at the 2011 Australian Short Course Championships in Adelaide, and two gold at the 2011 FINA World Cup.

In 2017, Hurley transitioned into the coaching ranks where he led South African Olympic Champions Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh to Gold and Bronze medals respectively, at the 2017 FINA World Swimming Championships in Budapest.

Hurley was born in Mornington, VIC and is the youngest of three children.

His family moved to Wollongong, NSW where he attended high school at The Illawarra Grammar School.

Hurley went on to compete at the Moscow, Stockholm and Berlin stops of the World Cup, winning 17 medals in total (5 Gold) and placed 4th in the overall standings with 85 points.