![]() | This article's factual accuracy is disputed .(January 2016) |
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | 14 August 1972 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Paralympic swimmer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 176 cm (5 ft 9 in) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 86 kg (190 lb) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Paralympic Swimmer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Updated on 15 August 2014 |
Walter Wu | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 胡緯豐 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 胡纬丰 [2] | ||||||||||
|
Walter Wu (born 14 August 1972) is an S13 classified Canadian swimmer who has competed and set records at the 1996,2000,and 2004 Summer Paralympics. [1] He won 14 Paralympic medals before retiring in 2004 after the Athens Paralympic Games. His accolades included selection as torch bearer,member of the Terry Fox Hall of Fame,and BC Disabled Athlete of the Year. He has spent time as a public speaker to local schools since retirement from active sports competition.
Walter Wu was born on 14 August 1972 in Richmond,British Columbia. [1] He is classified as S13 because of optic nerve dysfunction,meaning that he is considered to be legally blind. [3] At the age of eight,he moved to Richmond,British Columbia where he still resides today. After trying a variety of sports,Wu finally settled with swimming. He wanted to swim "because it was an individual sport;if you fail it's because of yourself;if you excel it's because of yourself" Wu said. [4] Since retiring from competition in 2004, [5]
Wu has given a speech at a local school part of the RCMP's Sports Event which brings athletes to schools to give inspiration. [6] Wu also has a part-time job at Home Depot which he has been sponsored. [4] He worked three years in the phone centre and has been doing shipping and receiving work since 2004. He won the BC Disabled Athlete of the Year,was featured in the Terry Fox Hall of Fame and was a torchbearer at the 2010 Winter Paralympics. [7] He added that "He is humbled and proud of that honour as well." [5] [8]
Walter Wu is a S13 classified swimmer. He competed in three Paralympic Games,retiring after the 2004 Athens Games. He said,"I miss competing,traveling and making international friends,but I don't miss the grueling training." [5]
At the age of 24,Wu won six gold and one bronze medals,breaking two World Records and two Paralympic Records,and becoming Canada's most decorated athlete of the games. [9] He set the world records in the 200-metre individual medley (2:19.83) and 100-metre backstroke (1:05.55). [10] After he won,he said,"That was an incredible feeling. It's not quite the rush of riding on a roller coaster,but standing on the podium when they play the national anthem chokes you up. It makes you proud that the hard work has paid off." [11]
A shoulder injury of his right shoulder caused Wu trouble in early 2000,three months before the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Wu's coach,Craig McCord,played a key role in Wu's return to form. Wu said,"In some ways I think he has more confidence in me that I have... He was always under the impression I was going to do well at the Olympic trials and time-wise it was one of my best events ever." [12] After being selected to compete at the 2000 Paralympic Games,Wu won five medals in Sydney,including golds in the 100m backstroke and the 100m butterfly,silvers in the 400m freestyle and the 200m individual medley,and a bronze in the 100m freestyle. [1]
Still suffering from another shoulder injury that occurred in 2003,Wu was not expected to compete in the 400m freestyle,but he made the decision to participate,telling his coach,"if I have to go to hospital to win this race,I am willing to do it." [13] He ended up winning the gold medal,coming first. He did not need to go to the hospital but did require medical treatment for 25 minutes after he finished. [13] Other than his gold medal,he also won two more silver medals in 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley. [1]
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.
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.
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.
Prue Watt,is a Paralympic swimming gold medalist from Australia. She has represented Australia at the four Paralympics from 2004 to 2016.
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.
Timothy Antalfy is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in swimming and won a bronze medal.
Sean Russo is an Australian swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Charles "Charl" Bouwer is a paralympic swimmer from South Africa competing in category S13 events. He was born in Kimberley.
Danylo Chufarov is a Ukrainian paralympic swimmer competing mainly in category S13 events.
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".
Alexander "Alec" Robert Elliot is a Canadian competitive Paralympic swimmer.
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.
Brian David Hill is a S13 Canadian para-swimmer who has competed in the 2000,2004,2008,2012 Summer Paralympics and the 2007 Parapan American Games. He had won five gold medals,three silver medals and 3 bronze medals in his international career. Hill started swimming as a child and competitive swimming at the age of nine. He has won the British Columbia Blind Sports Award and Athlete of the Year Award.
Jacob Templeton is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. He represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
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.
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.
Chelsey Gotell is a Canadian Paralympic swimmer and 12-time medalist. She has oculocutaneous albinism which causes her to have poor vision.
Liam Bekric is an Australian Paralympic swimmer with a vision impairment. Bekric represented Australia for the first time at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Colleen Young is an American swimmer. She is a three-time Paralympian earning a bronze medal at the 2016 Paralympic Games,as well as a bronze and a silver medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games. She has also earned multiple gold,silver and bronze medals at World Championships. She competes in the Paralympic class S13. In 2016 she set a Pan-American record in the 100m breaststroke.