SYDNEY -- Former Australian Olympic swimming head coach Don Talbot passed away at the age of 87 on Tuesday.

Talbot, a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, led the Australian swimming team to 18 Olympic medals, including five golds, at Sydney 2000 Olympics, which is the best performance for the team since Munich 1972.

Talbot had been appointed as the head coach for the Australian men's swimming team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He took the national head-coaching job in 1989, a position he held until 2001, after the Australian team won the most gold medals at the 2001 World Aquatics Championships in Japan.