Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Hobart | 13 September 1981||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Marayke Caroline Jonkers (born 13 September 1981[ citation needed ]) is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer and paratriathlete. She won two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Paralympics and a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, along with a bronze medal at the 2010 Budapest ITU Triathlon World Championships.
Jonkers was born on 13 September 1981 in Hobart, [1] and moved to Queensland as a baby. [2] She lives in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. [3] She became a paraplegic due to a car accident at the age of eight months. [3] She studied Communications and Social Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast where she received two bachelor's degrees. [4] [5] [6] She works as a motivational speaker. [4] [6] In 2009, she became a graduate employment consultant for STEPS Disability Qld. [5]
As part of her university studies, she completed an internship with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation working in ABC Online and the Stateline television show. [6] She has had stories published in The Sunshine Coast Daily and The Weekender. [6] She answered fashion questions in the April 2008 edition of Link Magazine. [7] She is the president of People with Disabilities Australia. [8]
In swimming, Jonkers competed in the S5 (classification) for freestyle, butterfly and backstroke as well as the SM4 individual medley and SB3 breaststroke events. [9] [10] She represents the Maroochydore Swimming Club at national competitions. [11] Jonkers broke more than 70 Australian national swimming records in the breaststroke, individual medley, freestyle and butterfly. [4] [12] She also set a world record for the 100 m butterfly event. [12]
Jonkers' began representing her state of Queensland at the age of twelve, and first represented Australia in 1999, winning a gold medal in that year's FESPIC Games. [13] Her first Paralympics was the 2000 Sydney Games, where she placed fourth and sixth. [12] [14] [15] At the 2002 IPC Swimming World Championships, she won two swimming silver medals. [12] At the 2004 Athens Paralympics, Jonkers won two swimming bronze medals in the Women's 150 m Individual Medley SM4 and Women's 50 m Breaststroke SB3 events. [12] [14] She competed at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, where she was one of Australia's oldest swimmers. [10] She won a silver medal at the Games in the Women's 150 m Individual Medley SM4 event [5] [14] with a time of 3:28.88. [10] In 2009, she set a world record in the 150 m individual medley at Australia's national short course championships held in Hobart. [5] In 2010, she competed at the Queensland Swimming Age Multi Class Championships. [9] She competed in the women's 100 m Breaststroke event, finishing third with a time of 02:50.59. [9] In 2010, at the age of 30, she also competed at the 2010 Telstra Australian Championships [11] the Over 12 years 150 m Medley event where she made the final finished with a time of 4:07.51. [11] She also made the finals in the Over 12 years 50 m Breaststroke event. [11] She was the Australian flag-bearer for the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, where she won a bronze medal in the 50 m breaststroke SB3 and was part of the 20-point 4×50 m relay team that broke an Oceania record. [15] [16]
Jonkers' first paratriathlon competition was as social event related to the 2009 ITU Triathlon World Championships in the Gold Coast. She became Australia's first female paratriathlete and paratriathlon medallist when she competed in the 2010 championships in Budapest, winning a bronze medal in the TRI-1 classification in a time of 2:12:40, eleven minutes better than her previous personal best. [3] [15] [17] [18] She had an Australian Institute of Sport Paralympic swimming scholarship. [19]
On 9 December 2011, she announced her retirement from competitive swimming due to thoracic outlet syndrome. [15]
Jonkers received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000. [20] At the age of 23, she was named the 2005 Queensland Young Achiever by premier Peter Beattie. [12] In 2007, she was named the inaugural winner of Cosmopolitan magazine's "fun fearless female award" [21] recognising Australia's most inspirational women who are encouraging others to pursue their dreams. [22] She was featured on page 76 of Cosmopolitan the month that she was recognised. [4] She used her prize money to set up the "Sporting Dreams Fund", which helps people with disabilities to develop their sporting talents. [23] In 2010, she was named the Sporting Wheelie of the Year by the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association. [17] In 2011, she was an Australia Day Ambassador. [24]
Miriam Sheppard is a New Zealand former para athlete and para swimmer. She was the 2009 ITU Paratriathlon World Champion in TRI3 classification. In addition, she represented New Zealand at the 2004 Summer Paralympic Games. in Athens, Greece, in swimming, as well as at the 2005 CPISRA World Games – in both swimming and track & field. Jenkins is affected by mild cerebral palsy in her left side.
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.
Blake Cochrane, 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.
Rick Pendleton, OAM is an Australian Paralympic swimmer from Sydney. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, his fourth Games.
Ryan Scott, is a Paralympic wheelchair rugby competitor from Australia. In four Paralympics, Scott has won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics.
The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association was the peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or vision impairment in the Australian state of Queensland.
Teigan Van Roosmalen is an Australian Paralympic S13 swimmer. She has Usher Syndrome type 1 legally blind and Profoundly deaf. She had a swimming scholarship from the Australian Institute of Sport 2009-2012. Her events are the 100 m breaststroke, 200 m individual medley, 50 m and 100 m freestyle. She competed at the 2011 Para Pan Pacific Championships in Edmonton, where she won a gold medal in the S13 400 freestyle event. She competed at the 2008 Summer and 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Kerri-Anne Weston is an Australian swimmer with paraplegia who won five medals at the 1984 New York/Stoke Mandeville Paralympics.
Ahmed Kelly is an Iraqi-born Australian Paralympic swimmer. He has competed at four Paralympics Games, winning two silver medals.
Claire Cashmore, is a Paralympic Swimming Champion and PTS5 classified British paratriathlete. She has been to four Paralympic Games with swimming and has won 4 bronze, 3 silver, and 1 gold medal. Cashmore also broke the world record in the SM9 100m Individual Medley in 2009. She decided to switch to competing in paratriathlon after winning gold and silver at the Paralympic Games in 2016, and became ITU World Champion in the PTS5 classification in 2019. Claire Cashmore is based in Loughborough, England. She was born in Redditch, England, without a left forearm.
Bill Chaffey is an Australian paratriathlete who won his fifth world championship in 2015. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics when paratriathlon made its debut at the Paralympics.
Rowan Crothers is an Australian freestyle swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and 2024 Paris Paralympics. He won two gold and one silver medals at the Tokyo Paralympics and two silver and one bronze medals at Paris Paralympics.
Emily Beecroft is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Georgia Bishop-Cash is a swimmer and 4.0 point Australian wheelchair basketball player. She made her international debut with the Australian U25 team at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing, winning silver. She was part of the Minecraft Comets team that won the Women's National Wheelchair Basketball League (WNWBL) championship title in 2014 and 2018, and were named the Queensland Sporting Wheelies Team of the Year for 2014. In May 2019, she was part of the Devils team that won silver at the 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Suphanburi, Thailand.
Kathleen Margaret "Katie" Kelly is an Australian paratriathlete, who has a degenerative disease known as Usher syndrome. Kelly began competing in the PT5 paratriathlon classification in February 2015 when her condition deteriorated to a legally blind state. She has just 30 per cent of her vision. With her guide Michellie Jones, Kelly won gold medals at the 2015 and 2017 ITU World Championships and 2016 Rio Paralympics. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
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.
Karina Lauridsen is a former Paralympic athlete from Denmark. Lauridsen represented her country at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing winning a bronze and gold medal. She has won multiple medals over three World Championships at both long course and short course events. She has also won a bronze medal as a shot putter in the 2002 IPC World Athletics Championships.
Katja Dedekind is an Australian Paralympic vision-impaired swimmer and goalball player. She won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and two bronze medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
Cheng Jiao is a Chinese Paralympian swimmer who won three gold medals in Swimming at the 2016 Summer Paralympics: at the Women's 50 metre backstroke S4 event with 48.11, at the Women's 50 metre breaststroke SB3 event with 58.28, and at the Women's 150 metre individual medley SM4 event with 2:49.69.
Zulfiya Gabidullina is a Kazakhstani Paralympic swimmer who competes in the S4 category. She previously competed in the S3 class but was reclassified into S4, a class for athletes with more physical ability compared to S3. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, aged 50, she won a gold medal in the 100 m freestyle, improving her own world record, and bringing Kazakhstan its only gold medal at the Paralympics. Gabidullina became disabled at the age of five. She is a businesswoman. She took up competitive swimming in 2007 and qualified for the 2012 Paralympics and 2013 and 2015 world championships.