SYDNEY: Australian swimming coach John Carew, who guided distance swimmer Kieren Perkins to two Olympic gold medals, has died after a long illness at the age of 81, Swimming Australia said Saturday.

The partnership of Carew and Perkins won two Olympic gold at Barcelona and Atlanta and two silver medals, two world championships and three Commonwealth Games gold, along with setting eight world records.

Carew took on Perkins at the age of nine and moulded him into an Olympic champion in 10 years.

"Everything I achieved I owe to Mr Carew," Perkins said Saturday. "He not only made me the swimmer I was but also the man I am today.

"After all I probably spent more time with him than I did with my own parents - he was a wonderful influence on my career and my life."

Swimming Australia president David Urquhart said Carew was a pioneer in swimming coaching.

"He was a pioneer in all forms of coaching, from learn-to-swim to elite level and fully deserved the title as a master coach," Urquhart said.

Australia's national head coach Alan Thompson said: "John Carew was a typical hard-nosed Australian, who would not take a backward step for anyone and got the absolute best out of his athletes and they knew exactly where they stood, that's for sure."