![]() 2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Cochrane | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Blake Cochrane | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Australian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Charleville, Queensland, Australia | 25 January 1991|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strokes | breaststroke, freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Classifications | S8, SB7, SM8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | USC Spartans | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach | Nathan Doyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Blake Cochrane, OAM (born 25 January 1991) is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, two gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, and a silver and one bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. [1]
It has been announced that Cochrane will be one of Australia's television hosts for coverage of the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024. [2]
Blake John Cochrane born on 25 January 1991 in Charleville, Queensland. [3] He has multiple congenital limb deficiencies affecting his hands and his feet. In December 2017, he graduated from University of the Sunshine Coast with Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Science. [3] Cochrane and his wife Lauran have a son and daughter.
Cochrane announced his retirement from swimming in July 2022.
Cochrane's parents enrolled him in swimming in an effort to alleviate his asthma. He began swimming competitively at age 16. [4] It was not until his selection by Swimming Australia as an AWD (Athlete with a Disability) team competitor at the Arafura Games in Darwin, 2007, that his potential was realised.
Cochrane went on to win a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 event. [5]
After Beijing 2008, Cochrane continued to perform strongly in the pool. He was one of the stars of the 2009 World Short Course Championships, winning two gold medals and one silver. He has been honoured with Blue awards by both University of Queensland, 2010 and the University of the Sunshine Coast, 2011. He blitzed the field at the 2011 Para Pan Pacific Championships in Canada, winning five gold medals and breaking the world record in the 100m breaststroke. 2010 was an especially prolific year for Blake as he won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the World Championships, before snaring a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. During the 2012 Australian Swimming Nationals he again set a new world record in the 100m breaststroke (SB8) final. [6] Competing at the 2012 London Games, he competed in five events and won two gold medals in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle 34 points. [4]
At the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Cochrane broke the world record in winning the gold medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7. [7]
Competing at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, Cochrane won the silver medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7 and a bronze medal in the Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay 34 points. [8] [9] He finished fourth in Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay 34pts, fifth in the Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8. [10]
In 2015, Cochrane was coached by Jan Cameron at the University of the Sunshine Coast. [11]
At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Cochrane won the silver medal in Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7. [12] He also competed in Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle (34 points) and finished fifth, seventh in Men's 400m Freestyle S8 but didn't progress to the finals in Men's 50m Freestyle S8 and Men's 100m Freestyle S8. [12]
At the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London, Cochrane won the bronze medal in the Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB7. [13]
Cochrane competed at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in the Men's 100 m breaststroke SB7. He won the bronze medal with a time of 1:16.97, close to 5 seconds behind the winner Carlos Serrano Zarate of Columbia. [14] He participated in the heats of the 34pts 4x100m Medley but not in the final.
At the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, he won the bronze medal in the Men's 100 breaststroke SB8. [15]
Cochrane is coached by Nathan Doyle at USC Spartans. [16]
In 2011, Cochrane was a nominee for The Age 's Sport Performer Award in the Performer with a Disability category. [17] In 2011, he won Swimming Australia's Swimmer with a Disability of the Year Award. He has been awarded the 'Graham Sherman Sunshine Coast Senior Sports Star of the Year' for 2013. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games." [18]
Jessica Tatiana Long is a Russian-born American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at six Paralympic Games, winning 30 medals. She has won over 50 world championship medals.
Matthew "Matt" Benedict Walker MBE is a British swimmer who has participated in four Paralympic Games, winning eleven medals. He competes in the S7, SM7 (medley) and SB7 (breaststroke) classifications.
Heather Frederiksen MBE is a retired British Paralympic swimmer. She is former world record holder in the women's S8 100 m backstroke, 50 m freestyle, 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle and 400 m freestyle events. As of June 2017, she still holds European records in the S8 200 m and 400 m freestyle. Frederiksen is a two time Paralympic champion in the 100m backstroke S8 classification, and has won eight Paralympic medals in all.
Brenden Hall, is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He competed at the, 2008 Beijing Paralympics, 2012 London Paralympics, 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Paralympics. At the end of the Paris Paralympics, he had won three gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Matthew John Levy, is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. At five Paralympic Games from 2004 to 2020, he has won three gold, one silver and six bronze medals.
Rick Pendleton, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer from Sydney. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, his fourth Games.
Timothy Antalfy is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming and won a bronze medal.
Jesse Bage Aungles is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Emily Jane Beecroft is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Tiffany Thomas Kane, is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, winning a gold and three bronze medals, and at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, winning a further two bronze medals.
Lakeisha Dawn Patterson, is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She won medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, she won Australia's first gold medal of the Games in a world record time swim in the Women's 400m freestyle S8. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, she won the gold medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S9. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she won the silver medal in the Women's 400 m Freestyle S9.
Timothy Malcolm Disken, is an Australian paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships and won bronze in the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. At the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he won a gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle S9, a silver medal in the men's S9 50m freestyle and a bronze medal in the men's 200m individual medley SM9. He also competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Alice Rose 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.
Denis Tarasov is a Paralympic swimmer from Russia competing mainly in category S8 events. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London he won five medals, including gold in the 50 metre freestyle S8 event. He has represented Russia at two IPC World Championships with a total of 12 medals. At the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow he set four world records, two as part of Russian relay teams and two individual records, in the 50m and 100m freestyle S8 events.
Thomas Young is a British Paralympic swimmer. He represented Britain at the 2012 London Paralympics and has won medals at both the long course and short course World Championships.
Timothy Hodge is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He has represented Australia at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Paralympics, where he won two gold, three silver and one bronze medals.
Paige Leonhardt is an Australian swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where she won a silver medal and the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Liam Schluter is an Australian Paralympic swimmer with an intellectual disability. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Oksana Khrul is a Ukrainian para-swimmer, competing in S6, SM6 and SB7 categories.
Lisa den Braber is a Dutch Paralympic swimmer. She represented the Netherlands at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom and at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.