Former Olympic swimmers Roger and Diana van Hamburg are diving back into the property market to find a new Gold Coast home.
The couple were internationally competitive in the 1960s and 1970s with Roger swimming in individual medley and freestyle relay events for his native Netherlands at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and Diana Rickard competing for Australia in backstroke and individual medleys at the Mexico Olympics in 1968.
They have listed their Benowa apartment at Marina Concourse, having bought the three-bedroom unit in 2016 and moving from NSW.
They rented in the area until the Sunland Group development, where they have lived for about a year, was finished.
“We’ve been here since it was new,” Mrs van Hamburg said.
“We love the apartment but we don’t like apartment living.
“If we could pick it up and move it, we’d take it with us.”
The apartment has luxury interiors and a balcony overlooking Royal Pines marina and golf course.
The community also has resident facilities, including a pool and barbecue area.
The couple still swim every day and teach regularly at the neighbouring Superfish Swim School.
Mrs van Hamburg said the secret to keeping their passion for the water alive was not taking it too seriously.
“We’ve made it a part of our lives, not all of our lives,” she said.
They ran a swim school from their home for years before moving to the Gold Coast to retire and be closer to family.
Their daughter, Sasha, is married to another Olympian, former Australian freestyle and butterfly swimmer Adam Pine.
“Having done that for 30 years, we knew we wanted to move north because we love the tropics,” Mrs van Hamburg said.
“It’s the weather. We just love it here.”
The property is currently listed for $975,000.