| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Natalie Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | British (English) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 31 October 1984 Colchester, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Manchester HPC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Natalie Jones (born 31 October 1984) is a British Paralympic swimmer. She competes in S6 classification events and has represented Great Britain at four Paralympics winning five medals, including two golds at Athens in 2004.
Jones was born in Colchester, England, and after being delivered via an emergency caesarean she failed to breathe for the first nine minutes of her life. [1] [2] Jones, who has cerebral palsy, was first introduced to the sport of swimming by a school teacher at the age of ten. [1] [3] At the age of 15, she was selected for the Great Britain team at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, becoming the swimming squad's youngest member. [3] She competed in four events at Sydney, with her best result being in the 4x50m Medley Relay (20pts), where she and her teammates finished 6th. [1]
In 2004 Jones moved from her homebase in Colchester to Manchester where she joined Manchester HPC. [3] Later that year she was re-selected to represent Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. She took part in six events, finishing on the podium twice. She won the gold in both the 200m Individual Medley (SM6) and as part of the 4x50m Medley Relay (20pts) along with Nyree Lewis, Maggie McEleny and Jane Stidever. [1]
Jones continued to compete at an international level, and won two gold medals and a silver at the 2006 IPC World Championships held in South Africa. [3] By 2008 Jones was in a relationship with fellow Paralympian Rik Waddon, and both qualified for the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. [3] Jones won another two medals, this time a pair of bronzes in the 50m Freestyle (S6) and the 200m Individual Medley (SM6). Waddon also medalled, with a silver in the 1 km time trial. [4]
At the 2009 IPC World Swimming Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Jones won medals in all five of the events she entered. She took bronze in the 50m Butterfly (S6), silver in the 50m Freestyle (S6), 100m Freestyle (S6) and her favoured 200m Individual Medley 100m and a gold in the Individual Medley (SM6). [1] She followed this with four bronzes at the 2010 IPC World Championships in Eindhoven. [1] She married Waddon in 2010. [5] They are each the subject of a Lego minifigure. [6]
Jones was selected for her fourth Paralympics, after making the team for the 2012 Games in London. At London Jones was selected for five events. She qualified for three finals, the 100m freestyle (S6), 400m freestyle (S6) and the 200m individual medley (SM6). She finished seventh in both 100m and 400m freestyle events and took bronze in the 200m individual medley, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind Verena Schott of Germany who took the silver medal. [7]
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.
Jessica Tatiana Long is a Russian-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 five Paralympic Games, winning 29 medals. She has also won over 50 world championship medals.
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.
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.
Louise Stephanie Watkin is a British Paralympic swimmer. Watkin swims in the S9 category and represented Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Paralympics, in which she won two silver and two bronze medals. She won one silver and three bronze medals at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.
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.
Prue Watt, is a Paralympic swimming gold medalist from Australia. She has represented Australia at the four Paralympics from 2004 to 2016.
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.
Stephanie Millward, is a British Paralympic swimmer.
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 (three-time) and VL3 (two-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.
Nikita Stevie Howarth is a New Zealand para-cyclist and para-swimmer. She became New Zealand's youngest ever Paralympian after being selected for the 2012 Summer Paralympics, aged 13 years 8 months. She again represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, where she won the gold medal in the women's 200 metre individual medley SM7 and the bronze medal in the women's 50 metre butterfly S7.
Thomas Hamer is an English British swimmer. Hamer is Commonwealth, European & World Champion. He has held Previous World Records in the 200m freestyle event and has held many British records in other swimming strokes. Hamer competes mainly in freestyle and individual medley preferring shorter distances. His first international competition was in 2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow and took a silver medal in the 200m freestyle at 15 years of age.
Tully Alicia Jacqueline Kearney is a British Paralympic swimmer. Kearney competes in the S5 classification for swimmers with physical disabilities. She won Gold and Silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games setting World records in both the 50 m and 100 m freestyle. She has also won medals in three IPC Swimming World Championships winning Bronze in the 2013 IPC Swimming World Championships, setting a British record; four Golds, a Silver and a Bronze in the 2015 World Championships setting three European records and becoming GB's highest medal earner of the Championships, and three Golds at the World Para Swimming Championships in 2019, setting three British records and two Championship records. In addition, she won Gold and Bronze at the World Para Swimming European Championships in 2018. Kearney is a multiple British, European and World record holder.
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.
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.
Emma Cattle is a British Paralympian competing in S10 events. She competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, and won medals at the 2009 and 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships.
Nicole Turner, of Portarlington, Laois, is an Irish para-swimmer, competing mainly in the S6, short stature category.
Maryna Piddubna is a Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer.
