 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Sharkboy |
| Born | 6 May 1982 Cape Town, South Africa |
| Sport | |
| Country |  South Africa |
| Sport | Paralympic swimming |
| Disability class | S10 |
Medal record | |
Achmat Hassiem (born 6 May 1982) is a South African swimmer who was injured in an attack by a great white shark. He competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and he competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
Hassiem was born on 6 May 1982 in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. [1] He attended Bergvliet High School in Bergvliet, a suburb of Cape Town. [2]
In 2006 his right leg was severed by a four-and-a-half metre long great white shark whilst he was training for lifesaving exams at Muizenberg beach with his brother Tariq; the lower portion of his leg was subsequently amputated. [3] [4] Because of the manner in which he sustained his disability Hassiem is nicknamed "Sharkboy". [5]
He is 1.94 metres (6 ft 4 in) tall and weighs 88 kilograms (194 lb). [5]
Hassiem began swimming at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa following his accident. For competition he is categorised in the S10 classification, the classification for swimmers with the most physical ability. He is coached by Brian Button. [5]
He first competed internationally for South Africa at the 2008 Summer Paralympics held in Beijing, People's Republic of China. [4] [5] He swam in the men's 100 metre backstroke S10 event finishing sixth in his heat in a time of one minute 1.61 seconds and failing to make the final. [6]
He was selected to represent South Africa at the 2012 Summer Paralympics held in London, where he competed in the 100 metres butterfly and the 100 and 400 metres freestyle events. [1] [4] Swimming events at the Games were held from 30 August to 8 September at the London Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park. [7] On 1 September 2012, Hassiem won a bronze medal in the 100 m butterfly, setting a new African record of 57.76 seconds in the final. [8] [9]
Natalie du Toit OIG MBE is a South African swimmer. She is best known for the gold medals she won at the 2004 Paralympic Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She was one of two Paralympians to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the other being table tennis player Natalia Partyka. Du Toit became the third amputee ever to qualify for the Olympics, where she placed 16th in the 10km swim.
Matthew John Cowdrey is an Australian politician and Paralympic swimmer. He presently holds numerous world records. He has a congenital amputation of his left arm; it stops just below the elbow. Cowdrey competed at the 2004 Paralympic Games, 2006 Commonwealth Games, 2008 Paralympic Games, 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the 2012 Paralympic Games. After the 2012 London Games, he is the most successful Australian Paralympian, having won thirteen Paralympic gold medals and twenty three Paralympic medals in total. On 10 February 2015, Cowdrey announced his retirement from swimming.
South Africa sent a team to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China and finished 6th on the medal table.
Andre Brasil Esteves is a Paralympic swimmer from Brazil. He had poliomyelitis as a child. He competes in the S10 classification.
Dame Sophie Frances Pascoe is a New Zealand para-swimmer. She has represented New Zealand at four Summer Paralympic Games from 2008, winning a total of eleven gold medals, seven silver medals and one bronze medal, making her New Zealand's most successful Paralympian. She has also represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
Ellie Victoria Cole, is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progressed more rapidly than instructors had predicted. She began competitive swimming in 2003 and first competed internationally at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, where she won a silver medal. Since then, she has won medals in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games, the IPC Swimming World Championships, and various national championships. Following the 2012 London Paralympics, where she won four gold and two bronze medals, Cole underwent two shoulder reconstructions and made a successful return to swimming at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, winning five medals, including three golds. She subsequently represented Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. In claiming her seventeenth Paralympic medal in Tokyo, Cole became Australia's most decorated female Paralympian with six gold, five silver and six bronze medals from four Paralympic Games.
Brenden Hall, is an Australian Paralympic swimmer who won two gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics where he won one gold, one silver and one bronze medal. He competed at 2020 Summer Paralympics, his fourth games.
Andrew Bruce Pasterfield, is a Paralympic swimmer from Australia.
Rick Pendleton, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer from Sydney. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, his fourth Games.
Michael Anderson, is an Australian Paralympic swimmer who has won gold, silver and bronze medals at the three Paralympics from 2008 to 2016.
Katherine Rose Downie is an Australian Paralympian. Kat first represented Australia in 2011. Kat represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming and was a member of both the Gold medal Women's 34 point 4 x 100 free and 4 × 100 medley relay teams. Kat placed fourth in both her pet events the 100 backstroke and 200IM.
Phelipe Andrews Melo Rodrigues is a paralympic swimmer from Brazil competing mainly in category S10 events. He was born with a club foot and had two surgeries when he was just four weeks old. After his second surgery when his foot was in the right position he had an infection which made his leg blow the knee and specially his tendon to stop growing, disabling his right foot movements. He started swimming when he was 8 months as physiotherapy. He also tried many different sports but his passion since childhood was swimming.
Malta sent a delegation to compete at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. This was the country's eighth appearance in a Summer Paralympic Games. The Maltese delegation consisted of a single short-distance swimmer: Matthew Sultana. In his three events, the men's 50 metres freestyle S10, the men's 100 metre butterfly S10 and the men's 100 metre breaststroke SB9, he failed to qualify beyond the first round.
Stephanie Millward, is a British Paralympic swimmer.
The Men's 100 metre butterfly S10 swimming event at the 2004 Summer Paralympics was competed on 20 September. It was won by Benoît Huot, representing Canada.
The Women's 100 metre butterfly S10 swimming event at the 2004 Summer Paralympics was competed on 20 September. It was won by Magdalena Szczepinska, representing Poland.
Alice Tai, is a British paralympic swimmer. Tai competes in the SB8, SM8 and S8. She has represented Great Britain at European and World Championships and at the Commonwealth and Paralympic Games, gold medals at all levels.
Dimosthenis 'Dimos' Michalentzakis is a Greek Paralympic swimmer who competes in S9 and S8 classification events. He won Paralympic gold in the 100m butterfly S9 at 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and Paralympic bronze in the 100m freestyle S8 at 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. He was born in Alexandroupoli in 19/10/1998 and he has origin from Feres. He holds the world record in 200 meters freestyle in his category with a performance of 2:07:16. The Municipal Swimming Pool of Alexandroupoli has his name.
Col Pearse is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, he won the bronze medal in the 100 m butterfly S10.
