demanded that if the ASU were to suspend him, they should do so immediately for the Commonwealth Games, rather than letting him compete and win medals before punishing him. His complaints about the training conditions had gained the attention of his team-mates, and several senior swimmers threatened to leave if he was banned. In the end, the ASU rescinded the suspension. Brooks has remained strongly critical of the attitude of swimming bureaucracy, claiming that "too many officials expect unquestioning obedience", calling for the formation of a swimmers' committee. Arriving in Brisbane for the Commonwealth Games, Brooks and some of his fellow sprinters shaved their heads, something that received much attention from the Australian public. He won his heat of the 100 m freestyle in a Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games record of 51.09 s. He swam slower in the final, but his time of 51.14 s was enough to secure the gold medal in a close contest. Just 0.43 s separated him and the bronze and silver medallists Greg Fasala and Michael Delany, both of Australia. Brooks then won gold as part of the winning 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, anchoring the team of Fasala, Delany and Graeme Brewer to a victory by almost three seconds, putting in a split of 50.56 s. The shaven-headed quartet was dubbed the Mean Machine. He collected another gold in the medley relay, combining with David Orbell, Evans and Jon Sieben, this time completing his freestyle anchor leg in 50.44 s. Canada had finished the race far ahead of the Australians, but were disqualified for an early changeover. After the games, Brooks completed the American college season before returning to Australia. He was named as Western Australia's Sportsman of the Year. Los Angeles Olympics Brooks came into the 1984 Australian Championships as the favourite, but this time he was on the receiving end of a close result. He placed third in the 100 m freestyle behind Mark Stockwell and Delany, missing individual selection by 0.05 s. The trio was separated by a total of only 0.15 s. Selected as a relay swimmer only, he went to Los Angeles hoping to win the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, an event that the United States had always won. During the heats, the Australian team of Brooks, Fasala, Delany and Stockwell showed their intention to deny the Americans the gold for the first time at Olympic