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| Nationality | British | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 March 1989 Stockport, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle, Breaststroke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Stockport Metro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Rob Greenwood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Daniel Pepper (born 2 March 1989) is an English Paralympian swimmer. [1] Pepper competes in the S14 disability category in freestyle and breaststroke. He represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, and in 2010 he won two gold medals at the World Championships in Eindhoven. [2]
Pepper began swimming at the age of four, as his parents were concerned about the canal that backed onto their home and wanted him to be able to swim. [3] From practising in his local pool in Stockport he was spotted by the local swimming club and was invited to join. As Pepper has a learning disability similar to a dyslexia he was given an S14 parasport classification. [2] [3] His disability affects his ability to both retain instruction and co-ordination. [3]
Pepper had hopes that the times he was recording would make him eligible for the British team at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, but after the basketball controversy at the 2000 Games, his classification was dropped from all events by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). [3] Pepper's initial reaction was one of anger and he decided to quit the sport, but a month later his coach persuaded him to return to training. [3]
In 2009 the IPC decided to lift the ban on S14 entrants and Pepper was able to enter his first major international event, the 2009 IPC Swimming European Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland. [1] There he entered three events, the 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley, taking gold in all three. [1] The following year Pepper travelled to Eindhoven to represent Britain at the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships entering two events. In the 100m breaststroke he recorded a time of 1:11.08 to take gold, a feat he repeated in the 200m freestyle making him a double world champion. [2] He followed this in 2011 with his second European Championship, this time in Berlin. He failed to defend his 100m breaststroke, coming second to take silver, but victory in the 200m Freestyle gave him his fourth European Championship gold. [1]
With the coming of the 2012 Summer Paralympics it was announced that several S14 events would be included in the swimming schedule for the first time. Pepper was part of the Great Britain team and was selected for two events, the 200m freestyle and the 100m breaststroke. Pepper swam in heat 1 of the 200m freestyle. As it was the inaugural race of this event under the S14 classification, by coming first with a time of 2:01.94, Pepper, by default, became the Paralympic champion. His reign was short lived as his time was beaten by Iceland's Jon Margeir Sverrisson in the very next heat. In the final Pepper was unable to improve on his first round heat time and finished seventh. In the breaststroke he was again placed in the first heat. Pepper finished third in a race which saw Russia's Artem Pavlenko set a new World record. As one of the slowest qualifiers, Pepper was placed in the unfavorable first lane and again finished seventh.
In 2013 Pepper returned to represent Great Britain, travelling to Montreal to compete in the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships. He swam in two events taking the silver in 200m individual medley. [2]
In 2021, Dan Pepper presented a six-part documentary, The Fake Paralympians, for the BBC World Service. The series investigated the events that led up to the ban on intellectual impairment sports at the Paralympics; a ban imposed after the Spanish basketball squad was found to only have two players with genuine disabilities at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics. The series also looked at the impact the nine-year ban had on Dan's career as well as other athletes with learning disabilities.
Dan said of the series: "I hope people learn that people with a learning impairment can do a variety of things - me presenting this show is obviously part of that. I'm hoping that people's views on intellectual disability sport will change, and I’m hoping to show what we've gone through to get to where we are today and where we would like to get to in the future.” [4]
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.
Kayla Clarke is an Indigenous Australian swimmer who represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming, and has medalled at the 2010 Australian Disability Age Group Nationals, and 2010 International Paralympic Swimming World Championships, 2009 Queensland State Championships, 2009 Queensland Secondary School Titles, and 2009 Global Games. She competes in a number of events, including the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley.
Daniel Fox is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics being awarded a bronze most recently in the 200m Freestyle S14. He has won gold at the Global Games, the Arafura Games, World Championships, Can-Am Championships, Para Pan Pacific Championships, EnergyAustralia Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Daniel also holds the world record for the 50m freestyle (24.77) and the 100m freestyle record (53.50) in the S14 classification. Daniel Fox is also the Australian ambassador for the INAS Global Games in 2019.
Karolina Pelendritou is a visually impaired swimmer from Cyprus. She has won gold medals and broken records in national and international games as well as winning three gold medals, a silver and two bronze over four Paralympic Games. Due to her achievements she is known as the "Princess of the Pool".
Bethany Charlotte Firth, is a Northern Irish Paralympic swimmer. Since 2014 she has competed for Great Britain; previously, Firth had represented Ireland. A six time Paralympic gold medalist, she has won gold in her specialist event - the 100 metres backstroke - for both Ireland at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and Great Britain at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics. These were in addition to the Mixed 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay S14 at the 2020 Games, and 200 metres medley and 200 metres freestyle for Great Britain at the 2016 Games, where she was the nation's most successful Paralympian with three golds and a silver medal. She competes in the S14 classification for athletes with an intellectual impairment.
Aaron Moores is a British Paralympic swimmer competing in the S14 category, mainly in the backstroke and breaststroke. In 2010 he set a new British record in his class for the 50m breaststroke and after qualifying for the 2012 Summer Paralympics he won a silver medal in the 100 m backstroke. Aaron was awarded his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt at Gracie Barra Frome in Somerset by professor Callum Swift 3 August 2022.
Jessica-Jane Applegate MBE is a British Paralympic swimmer. Applegate competes in the S14 classification for swimmers with intellectual disabilities, mainly freestyle and backstroke preferring shorter distances. She qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics and on 2 September, Applegate won the gold setting a Paralympic record in the S14 200m freestyle.
Matthew Whorwood is a British Paralympic swimmer. Whorwood, who swims mainly in S6 events has competed in two Paralympic Games winning three bronze medals in freestyle and breastroke events.
Charlotte Sarah Henshaw is a British Paralympic full-time athlete across multiple disciplines. Originally a swimmer, she changed to canoeing from 2017, becoming the reigning World champion in the KL2 (five-time) and VL3 (three-time) 200m events. In September 2021, at the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, she became a Paralympic champion at her fourth games, winning the Women's KL2 event.
The 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships was the seventh IPC Swimming World Championships, an international swimming competition, the biggest meet for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and lasted from 12 to 18 August. Around 530 athletes competed from 57 different countries. The event was held in the Parc Jean Drapeau Aquatic Complex located at the Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. 172 events were contested with 43 new world records set.
The 2014 IPC Swimming European Championships was an international swimming competition held in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, from the 4th to the 10th of August. Around 375 athletes from 35 different countries attended. The venue, the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium, also held the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships.
Marlou van der Kulk is a Dutch Paralympic swimmer. She competed in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, winning two bronze medals. Van der Kulk has also competed in two IPC Swimming World Championships winning four gold medals.
Jack Thomas is a British parasport swimmer. Thomas competes in the S14 classification for swimmers with intellectual disabilities, mainly freestyle and backstroke, preferring shorter distances. In 2014 he competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow representing Wales and took the bronze medal in the 200m freestyle S14.
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.
Scott Quin is a Scottish parasport swimmer competing in S14, SB14 and SM14 classification events, specialising in the 100m breaststroke. He has won medals at both the IPC Swimming European Championships and the IPC Swimming World Championships.
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.
Liam Schluter is an Australian Paralympic swimmer with an intellectual disability. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
