At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Gould won three gold awards, setting a world record in each race. She likewise won a bronze and a silver decoration.

She is the main individual, male or female, to hold each world free-form record from 100 meters to 1500 meters and the 200-meter singular mixture world record at the same time, which she did from 12 December 1971 to 1 September 1972. She is the principal female swimmer ever to win three Olympic gold decorations in world record time, and the main swimmer, male or female, to win Olympic awards in five individual occasions in a solitary Olympics. She is likewise the main Australian to win three individual gold decorations at a solitary Olympics.[6]

At 17 years old, she resigned from focused swimming, refering to weights set upon her by her prosperity and media profile.

More than two decades later, Gould came back to focused swimming at Masters level. She set Australian Masters records (40– 44 years 100m, 200 m, and 400 m free-form, and 100 m butterfly) and 45– 49 years (50 m butterfly, 100 m and 200 m free-form). In 2003, she broke the world record for the 45– 49 years 200 m singular variety in 2:38.13 (beating the 1961 world record for all ages).[7]