Matthew Douglas Renshaw (born 31 October 1964) is an Australian former competitive swimmer who represented Australia during the 1980s and early 1990s. He is best remembered as a member of the celebrated Australian 4 × 100 m freestyle relay quartet of the 1980s, popularly known as the Mean Machine.
| Full name | Matthew Douglas Renshaw |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 31 October 1964 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Event | Freestyle (relay) |
| School | Barker College, Sydney |
| Club | Carlile Swimming Club |
| Active era | 1980s – early 1990s |
Renshaw completed his schooling at Barker College in Sydney. He trained with the Carlile Swimming Club, one of the well-known competitive swimming programmes in New South Wales, and developed into a sprint freestyle specialist who featured prominently in Australia's relay teams.
During the 1980s, Renshaw was part of Australia's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay group nicknamed the Mean Machine, a quartet whose most prominent member was Neil Brooks.
At the 1986 Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, Renshaw and his teammates won the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, setting a Games record in the final.
At the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, Renshaw earned a further Commonwealth Games gold medal, having swum in the heats of the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay event for the winning Australian team.
Renshaw represented Australia at two editions of the World Aquatics Championships:
Renshaw's career coincided with one of the strongest periods of Australian sprint freestyle relay swimming. As a member of the Mean Machine relay group, he contributed to Australia's continued international dominance in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay through the second half of the 1980s.