Jessicah Schipper

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Jessicah Schipper

Personal information
Full name:	Jessicah Schipper
Nationality:	Australia
Date of birth:	November 19, 1986 (1986-11-19) (age 21)
Place of birth:	Brisbane, Queensland

Medal record
Competitor for Australia
Women's swimming
Olympic Games
Gold	2004 Athens^[1]	4 x 100 m medley relay
Commonwealth Games
Gold	2006 Melbourne^[2]	100 m butterfly
Gold	2006 Melbourne	200 m butterfly
Gold	2006 Melbourne	4 x 100 m medley relay
Silver	2006 Melbourne	50 m butterfly
World Championships
Gold	2005 Montreal^[3]	100 m butterfly
Gold	2005 Montreal	4 x 100 m medley relay
Gold	2007 Melbourne^[4]	200 m butterfly
Gold	2007 Melbourne	4 x 100 m medley relay
Silver	2005 Montreal	200 m butterfly
Silver	2007 Melbourne	100 m butterfly
Bronze	2003 Barcelona^[5]	4 x 100 m medley relay
World Championships - Short Course
Gold	2004 Indianapolis^[6]	4 x 100 m medley relay
Gold	2006 Shanghai^[7]	200 m butterfly
Gold	2006 Shanghai	4 x 200 m freestyle relay
Gold	2006 Shanghai	4 x 100 m medley relay
Bronze	2006 Shanghai	100 m butterfly

Jessicah Schipper OAM (born November 19, 1986 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian swimmer. She trains at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood.

Schipper made her debut for Australia at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, winning the bronze medal as part of the 4x100 m medley relay team.

In 2004 she competed in the Athens Olympics, placing 4th in the 100 m butterfly with the time of 58.22 s. She also collected the gold medal in the 4x100 m medley relay, having swum the butterfly leg in the heats of the event.

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal she won the silver medal in the 200 m butterfly with the time of 2.05.65 s, only 0.04 seconds behind Otylia Jędrzejczak of Poland, who consequently recorded a new world record in the event. However, the race was overshadowed by the video replay showing that Jędrzejczak touched the finishing wall with only one hand, which is illegal under the butterfly rules. Video replays cannot be used in appeals against race results. Schipper also won the gold in the 100 m butterfly (57.23 s) and in the 4x100 m medley relay, with teammates Sophie Edington, Leisel Jones and Libby Lenton. In doing so, she erased the Australian records in both the 100 m and 200 m butterfly set by Susie O'Neill and Petria Thomas, respectively.

In 2006 Schipper wiped 0.08 s off her 100 m butterfly (57.15 s) Commonwealth record to become the second fastest woman ever in the history of the event, surpassing Martina Moravcova.

She won the gold medal in both the 100 m and 200 m butterfly as well as the silver medal in 50 m butterfly at the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne. She combined with Sophie Edington, Leisel Jones and Libby Lenton to set a new world record in the 4x100 m medley relay, collecting her third gold medal of the meet.

On August 17, 2006 Schipper set a new world record in the women's 200m butterfly, on the opening night of the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. Schipper won the final in 2:05.40, bettering the mark of 2:05.61 set by Otylia Jędrzejczak at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships.^[8]

Schipper won the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, as well as the silver medal in the 100 m butterfly, behind fellow Australian Libby Lenton.

She was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in January 2005 for her services to swimming, and is a seasoned public speaker.

Schipper qualified for the 100&nbspm and 200&nbspm butterfly events in Beijing, where she is among the favourites for the medals. She is a member of the 4x100m medley relay squad.