Forbes Carlile, former Australian Olympic modern pentathlete and legendary swimming coach, has died at the age of 95, following a brief illness, his wife Ursula said.

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Born in 1921 in Armadale, Victoria in south-east Australia, Carlile was the country's first Olympics swimming coach after the Second World War in 1948. He then participated in the modern pentathlon in Helsinki in 1952, becoming the only person to have coached and later competed at the Olympic Games. He was also the head Australian swimming coach at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and in Rome in 1960.

Honoured as the Father Of Australian Swimming by the Australian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association (ASCTA), Carlile along with his wife and assistant, Tom Green, trained some of Australia's best swimmers including Shane Gould, Karen Moras and Terry Gathercole.

In 1977, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and in 1989 into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame. Carlile was also commemorated with Member Of The Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1977 as well as with the Queens Jubilee Medal.

Remembering the celebrated coach, the ASCTA released a statement saying: "It is with great sadness that ASCTA announce the passing of our legend and Number one swimming coach Forbes Carlile. For many years Carlile was an integral member of the ASCTA Conference and was always seated in the front row beside his wife Ursula. He will be sadly missed by the whole swimming community."

The Chef de Mission for Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Kitty Chiller, condoled the death of the legendary swimmer on behalf of the Australian Olympic team and said: "The passing of Forbes Carlile is incredibly sad and our thoughts are with his wife Ursula. He was a true legend in Australian Olympic history as both an athlete and a coach. He was Australia's first-ever Olympian in modern pentathlon and it was a true honour to know him."